The film contains intermittent voice-over narration by Sigourney Weaver and Iain Cuthbertson as “Dian Fossey” and “Dr. Louis Leakey” exchange letters about their work.
       End credits are preceded by the epilogue: “When Dian Fossey arrived in Africa, the mountain gorilla was doomed to extinction. The result of her life’s work was a significant decrease in poaching and the survival of the species. The gorilla population continues to multiply as the spirit of her achievement lives on. Her death remains a mystery.”
       On 21 May 1984, DV announced that the newly launched theatrical film operation of Fries Entertainment Inc. (FEI) planned to adapt Dian Fossey’s 1983 novel, Gorillas in the Mist. Carroll Ballard and Caleb Deschanel were considered to direct, with “someone like Debra Winger” in the starring role. However, the project never came to fruition, and a 30 Oct 1986 LAT article indicated that film rights to Fossey’s novel passed to Universal Pictures in 1984. The 18 Sep 1988 NYT suggested that producer Arnold Glimcher had hoped Fossey would participate in the film and had traveled to Rwanda to meet with her just hours before her murder on 26 Dec 1985. Regardless, Glimcher decided to pursue the project in the interest of raising awareness for Fossey’s work, and her tragic death was incorporated into the screenplay.
       Around this time, Skip Steloff of Heritage Entertainment read about Fossey in the NYT and immediately began developing a book with author Farley Mowat, titled The Strange Life and Death of Dian Fossey, which he planned to adapt into a feature film. In Oct 1986, eighteen years’ worth of Fossey’s diary entries, photographs, and other work-related artifacts were turned over to her parents, who agreed to give the material to Heritage in exchange for a share of the film’s profits.
       Meanwhile, in the autumn of 1986, Warner Bros. Pictures and The Guber-Peters Company announced plans to begin production on another Fossey biopic, Heaven and Earth, with director Bob Rafelson and screenwriter Tab Murphy. Although Steloff possessed some of the most critical documents about Fossey’s life, Universal and Warner Bros. had already completed their scripts by the time Heritage began research in Africa. Intimidated by the pressure of competing with two major studios, Heritage opted instead to develop its material as a four-hour, two-part miniseries for CBS Television, as reported in the 19 Dec 1986 DV. A few months later, the 10 Feb 1987 DV stated that Universal had filed a $5 million lawsuit against Fossey’s mother, Hazel Fossey Price, whose cooperation with Heritage violated a promise Fossey had made to Universal in Mar 1985, which would allow the studio access to biographical information and an option on her novel. Although Heritage won the suit, a 16 Sep 1988 LAT article stated that new management at CBS dropped the miniseries shortly after.
       As doubts arose over the commercial viability of two competing Dian Fossey projects, a 21 Jan 1987 Var item announced that Universal and Warner Bros. had decided to join forces to produce and distribute Gorillas in the Mist. Each studio had reportedly spent more than $4 million on pre-production, before agreeing to a total budget of $24 million.
       Amid the changes, Rafelson left the project and was replaced by Michael Apted. The 30 Oct 1986 LAT and 13 Jan 1987 Var revealed that Jessica Lange, Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Vanessa Redgrave expressed interest in the role of Dian Fossey, which ultimately went to Sigourney Weaver.
       An undated article in the Toronto Star indicated that author Farley Mowat was one of several biographers who consulted with Weaver about Fossey’s life. Despite his former deal with Heritage, Mowat wrote the biography, Woman in the Mists: The Story of Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas of Africa, which was published in 1988. As Fossey had become a somewhat controversial figure in the years before her death, Apted struggled with the issue of how to best represent her tough and often violent crusades “without losing the audience’s sympathy for her.” The director also chose to omit Fossey’s possible rape by Congolese soldiers when she was evicted from the country in 1966—an incident which likely affected Fossey’s attitude toward the African people but was highly disputed by her friends and associates.
       Two weeks before production, Warner Bros. president Terry S. Semel threatened to pull out of the project, citing that the film was already $4 million over budget. Determined to continue working, Glimcher, Apted, Weaver, and several other crewmembers relinquished at least $3 million of their combined salaries, with Glimcher taking a percentage of the backend.
       Production notes in AMPAS library files indicated that principal photography began 1 Jun 1987 in the jungles of Rwanda. After eight weeks, production moved for a week to Nairobi, Kenya. The following four weeks were spent at a tent base camp in Kenya’s Aberdare Mountains, located 8,500 feet above sea level. The 18 Sep 1988 NYT stated that more than 400 Rwandans served as porters and messengers, and cast and crew members were required to carry equipment from the camp to Fossey’s Karisoke Research Center each day. After three months in Africa, an additional three weeks of interior filming took place at Lee International Studios in Shepperton, England.
       A 19 Sep 1988 HR article recounted the unique challenges Apted faced while filming. Although he initially considered using “tourist gorillas,” the animals were too accustomed to human contact and did not interact with Weaver, forcing the filmmaker to seek out the wild gorillas near Fossey’s remote camp. As a result, all locations were determined by the gorillas, whose grazing habits kept them in constant search for more food. For several hours each day, two cameras closely followed the movements of the gorillas, while a third cameraman documented the main narrative. The NYT article stated that government restrictions only allowed five crewmembers to enter the gorillas’ habitat at a time, while Weaver’s contact with the animals was limited to just one hour per day. Although a tracker taught Weaver the essential primate communication techniques, members of the wildlife unit used an earpiece to coach the actress through her interactions.
       The murder of Fossey’s favorite silverback, “Digit,” was the only scene that did not feature live gorillas. For these stunts, four human performers wore gorilla suits constructed by special makeup designer Rick Baker, who had won an Academy Award for his work on the 1984 British film, Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. The 16 Sep 1988 LAT estimated the cost of the radio-controlled costumes at $4 million.
       According to the Toronto Star, the budget was frequently adjusted to lengthen the shooting schedule and maximize the amount of available film stock. Since postproduction equipment and facilities were not accessible in the jungle, Apted was forced to “mentally edit” each day’s work. According to a 16 Sep 1988 DV article, Apted had roughly 300,000 feet of unused gorilla footage, which he offered to release to any parties interested in using the material.
       An 11 Aug 1988 HR item indicated that the film was scheduled to be presented at an exclusive “pre-premiere screening” on 25 Aug 1988 for members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA). The film debuted at the Toronto Festival of Festivals, followed by a Los Angeles premiere on 19 Sep 1988 at the Cineplex Odeon Universal City Cinemas. The 1 Sep 1988 DV stated that Weaver was to serve as honorary chairwoman for the event, which benefitted the Los Angeles Zoo and Fossey’s organization, the Digit Fund.
       According to a 5 Oct 1988 Long Beach Press-Telegram article, Universal was greatly concerned about the film’s commercial prospects after initial research revealed that the subject matter appealed mostly to women over twenty-five. As a result, Universal opted to test the film at just fifteen theaters in twelve cities beginning 23 Sep 1988, while running a variety of television advertisements which separately highlighted the story’s romance and action elements. Once reviews began generating positive word of mouth, the film expanded to a 550-theater national release on 30 Sep 1988.
       Weaver and composer Maurice Jarre received Golden Globe Awards and were nominated for Academy Awards in their respective categories. The picture was also nominated for Film Editing, Sound, and Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium).
       Shortly after the film’s release, the 28 Oct 1988 Long Beach Press-Telegram announced that Weaver and producer Arnold Glimcher pledged to adopt Maggie, one of the gorillas featured in the film, while encouraging others to donate to help fund research and anti-poaching campaigns. A few years later, an item in the 15 Jun 1992 issue of People magazine reported that Mrithi, the twenty-four-year-old silverback who portrayed Digit, had been shot dead by “unknown assailants” and was discovered on 21 May 1992.
       Acknowledgments state: “Produced with the assistance of The Rwandan Office of Information and The Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks”; “The producers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the following: Dr. David Watts, Former Director of Karisoke Research Station, Rwanda; Mark Condiotti, Assistant Director, Mountain Gorilla Project; Dr. Perez Olindo, Director of Wildlife Conservation and Management Department, Kenya; The Zaire Institute for the Conservation of Nature; Diana McMeekin, African Wildlife Foundation; Stacey Coil, Digit Fund; The Leakey Foundation; Ker and Downey Safaris Ltd; and Mrs Rosamund Carr and the People of the Republic of Rwanda”; and, “Made on location in the Republics of Rwanda and Kenya and at Lee International Studios Shepperton, England.”
       The actors who portray “Lucille Dowd,” “Daveed,” and “Usheppe” are not credited onscreen, and could not be identified in the film. The name of actor Iain Glen is misspelled as “Iain Glenn.”
       While the onscreen title card reads Gorillas in the Mist: The story [sic] of Dian Fossey, promotional materials in AMPAS library files refer to the film as Gorillas in the Mist: The Adventure of Dian Fossey.