After studying film theory at Yale, George Hickenlooper forged a name for himself in the annals of the film aesthetic by writing and co-directing (with Eleanor Coppola) "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse", a behind-the-scenes 1991 Showtime documentary on the making of Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now". He was also noted as the co-producer, editor and director of the short "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade", screened at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. Written by and starring Billy Bob Thornton (as convicted killer Karl Childers), the short was a warm-up for Thornton who later