(peter biskind) "easy rider" came in 1969, cost $500,000. made by nobodies.ope, unhappy ending, hippies, long-hairs. i mean it cleaned up, it was a huge hit. and it was really a revolution. these old guys in the studios had not the foggiest idea of why this film was so successful, or what was going on. and all they knew was dennis hopper directed it. so they grabbed onto the directors as saviors. although that's a film -- i wasn't part of that culture, but it did open a lot of doors for many people in california. and at the same time, giving you the chance behind the camera and almost a deification of the director. (man) "rain people" are people made of rain. and when they cry, they disappear altogether. (narrator) one such deified director was francis coppola. coppola's dream was to run his own studio, to be called american zoetrope. where did you hear about the rain people? i don't remember. were they in a story someone told you? no, it's true. (woman) did you ever see them? (walter murch) francis wrote a script involving a cross-country trip. it was an exi