them to grow beards for their roles. Wellman insisted that actual soldiers speak much of the "G.I." dialogue for authenticity. He also insisted that the Hollywood actors ("as few as possible") cast in the film be required to live and train with the assigned soldiers or they would not be hired. Preservation The Academy Film Archive preserved G.I. Joe in 2000. Concept Screenplay The film's concept originated with Lester Cowan, an independent producer, in September 1943, when he approached the War Department for cooperation in making a movie about the infantry with the same high degree of prestige as Air Force. In October he came to terms with United Artists for financial support and distribution of the proposed film, then developed a story outline based on Pyle's columns reproduced in Here is Your War, which the Army approved on November 27. Attempts to write a script that would accurately translate Pyle's style and sentiments to the screen while being acceptable to all of Pyle's readers and fans delayed filming for a year. Cowan came up with his final concept—Pyle's "love affair" with the ordinary infantryman—by June 1944, but developing a storyline proved more difficult. After the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, believing that the end of the war was in sight, the script moved in the direction of Pyle covering the infantry in its final advance to victory. However the final form of the screenplay developed through the input of several war correspondents and associates of Pyle, chiefly Don Whitehead, Lee Miller, and Paige Cavanaugh, who assisted the writers in selecting details from Pyle's columns for inclusion in the film, and from the desires of director William Wellman, who worked directly with Pyle. Finding a director Cowan's first choice for director was John Huston, even though he had completed only two films before going into the service. Cowan was impressed by two feature combat documentaries Huston had made for the war effort, Report from the Aleutians and The Battle of San Pietro, but was unable to gain Huston's services from the Army. In August 1944, unable to complete the writing of the screenplay, Cowan sought the services of William A. Wellman. One film history has Cowan walking into Wellman's home uninvited, making a strong pitch for Wellman's services, then engaging in a heated argument when Wellman refused. Wellman told Cowan that he "hated the infantry" because of his own experiences as