The film adaptation of Jean M. Auel’s novel The Clan of the Cave Bear might never have made it to the massive screen if it weren’t for Mark Damon’s Producers Sales Organization aggressively walking the halls of the American Film Market within the ’80s, finding foreign buyers for big-name film packages.
Producers Gerald Isenberg and Stan Rogow, having optioned the book — a prehistoric adventure a couple of Cro-Magnon girl adopted by a family of Neanderthals — tried to interest NBC in a movie-of-the-week to no avail. But then PSO, which Damon co-founded, entered the image, selling off rights to boost financing for the $16 million project, which was shot in British Columbia.
Daryl Hannah, fresh off her starring role in Splash, was forged as Ayla — images of her in revealing animal furs little question proved catnip to AFM buyers. In a prerelease interview with John Hanrahan, she described the grueling shoot. “Logistically, it was difficult,” she said. “There have been helicopters, you needed to hike, live in a tent. There was no warm water to shower in. It was difficult in that respect. But to me, I don’t find that strenuous. It was tougher since it was so hard to get the script right. It was a difficult book to translate right into a film format since it was not in any language that might be readily understood.” As an alternative, the forged spoke in guttural sounds that were accompanied by subtitles.
Michael Chapman, the famed cinematographer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, took the directing reins, but while the finished film, released domestically by Warner Bros. in 1986, had some striking visuals, critics found the drama lacking. Two follow-up movies were within the starting stage, but though Clan earned an Oscar nomination for its makeup, after it grossed lower than $2 million within the U.S., the proposed trilogy was quietly shelved.