First came the movie, in 1987. Then, two decades later, it was time for a limited edition book. Now, to mark Full Metal Jacket’s 25th anniversary, the film’s star Matthew Modine has turned that 2005 personal production diary into a $14.99 iPad app.

In a guest blog post for Ted Hope’s filmmaking website, Modine explained how the latest incarnation evolved:

The first edition of FMJ Diary [in 2005] was limited to only 20,000 laser-etched numbered copies and featured, literally, a metal book jacket. Upon release, it was well reviewed, awarded a prize for its design, and sold out rather quickly.

For years now, fans of the film and of Kubrick have been asking when a paperback edition might be released. The fact is, I wanted the 20,000 copies to be collector’s items and I never intended to publish a paperback version…

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Local journo-cum-filmmaker (and occasional fishie) Dan Cox took home the prize for Best Documentary this weekend at the Zurich Film Festival for his pic Running With Arnold

The pic criticizes the policies and … well, everything, of California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, which isn’t a hard sell in Switzerland. At one screening, some viewers stood up and yelled, “Arnold ist scheisse! Arnold ist scheisse!”

Still, Al Ruddy, chairman of the Zurich Film Festival jury and producer of The Godfather is also Arnold’s best friend and is, weirdly enough, godfather to his children.

Ruddy contemplated recusing himself from the judging, but fellow jury member Matthew Modine convinced him to stay on and together they argued for the film to win.

Cox tells FBLA: “It was up against what I was jokingly terming all week the ‘I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ no babies, Miss Scarlett,’ movies, which were both great docs about childbirth and mental defect that were truly better than mine and much more emotional (though I’ll never admit that in print).”

Cox tells us that, Oliver Stone, who was given a career achievement award, asked him how he got so much dirt on Arnold, to which he replied, “Clean living.”

So with the Godfather, Birdy and Platoon backing him up, Running with Arnold sped past the competition.

Cox — who was joined in Zurich by Lys Sparrow, a co-producer on the film — tells us: “I’ve been to hundreds of film festivals all over the world, but never as a filmmaker and certainly not as a winner of anything. I was flying all night long the evening the film won. I think I only drank about three gallons of red wine that night. And my headache on the plane the next day made sure I remembered.”

Welcome home and congratulations!