By CINDY MOSS
Published August 14, 2012
One of the most titillating tales in the study of human origins — focusing on whether Neanderthals interbred with modern humans — will soon be hitting the silver screen. The Columbia Pictures release titled Primal Attraction is slated for a Thanksgiving opening and explores a stone age romance between a young human traveler – “Toko” – and a Neanderthal tribeswoman – “Kyla” – 50,000 years ago in pre-modern France. Primal stars relative newcomers Eddie Rayne and Nina Duprev, and its producers hope the film will bridge the gap between science fiction and romance.
The timing of Primal could not be better. In the last year, studies of Neanderthal DNA samples extracted from ancient bones suggest that contemporary non-Africans can trace up to four-percent of their genetic code to human’s Neanderthal cousins. Researchers believe that cross-species sex during the time that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens lived in close proximity in Europe, tens of thousands of years ago, caused the genetic transfer. In addition to this discovery, in the last several years the right of individuals to engage in non-traditional marriages has captured the political attention of Americans.
“This is West Side Story meets Planet of the Apes.”
Primal tells the story of a pre-historic encounter between humans and Neanderthals and what happens when romance sparks across species lines. “We learned that they had relations, so the question becomes ‘what sort of courtships did they have?’,” said Primal’s executive producer Roberta Spillman. “Did their societies accept their love, or, more likely, did they put up barriers?” The dynamic of forbidden love is a familiar narrative in Western literature and dates at least as far back as Romeo and Juliette. In Primal, Spillman set out to develop it further: “This is Romeo and Juliette 50,000 years before they were born.”
Perhaps a rare exception to the rule, Primal’s script did not languish for years in Hollywood. Screenwriter Peter Vladmanovich said he knew his concept and screenplay would find a receptive audience. “This is West Side Story meets Planet of the Apes,” said Vladmanovich. “We have seen love conquer the lines dividing social and ethnic classes, but never the lines dividing species.”
Vladmanovich said Spillman was interested the moment she heard the concept. “We met for coffee after she read my original script and she started jumping up and down making monkey noises!” said Vladmanovich. “She understood the possibilities right away,” he said.
“We have seen love conquer the lines dividing social and ethnic classes, but never the lines dividing species.”
Spillman said that Vladmanovich’s ability to write textured characters was perfect for a sci-fi/romance. “Peter created so much wonderful detail to the challenges Toko and Kyla faced,” said Spillman. At least one of their inter-species challenges provides some comic relief. “Kyla communicates to Toko in rather hilarious sign language that human males do not ‘measure up’ shall we say,” said Spillman.
If Primal Attraction succeeds, it will follow in the rarified footsteps of movies such as Blade Runner that successfully blend science fiction with romance.
