FOSSEY’S STORY MEETS THE HOLLYWOOD JUNGLE

In December, 1985, gorilla expert Dian Fossey was discovered hacked to death at a remote camp on the slopes of Mt. Visoke in Rwanda. For 18 years Fossey had devoted her life to observing, researching, taming and eventually protecting a dwindling long-haired gorilla population in Africa that poachers had reduced from 10,000 to only 4,000.

Less than a year after her slaying, Fossey is the centerpiece of a frenzied kind of gorilla warfare among two major studios--Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures--and an equally determined third party, independent producer Skip Steloff and his Heritage Entertainment Co., all of whom insist they are making movies about Fossey’s life and times.

The Fossey wars provide an intriguing look into the sometimes ruthless tactics of big-time movie makers. When dealing with a public figure like Fossey, the competition can become a complex free-for-all. In the end, the winner is determined not by how much you know, but by who you know--and by who gets the cameras rolling first.

Ironically, Fossey’s death catapulted this project from a back-burner idea pitched at most of the major studios to a high-priority story with a lot of “heat.”

(Her death was shrouded with controversy. At first, angry poachers were thought to be responsible for the killing; later Rwandan government officials named U.S. researcher Wayne Richard McGuire as a suspect. McGuire, an assistant to Fossey, denied having anything to do with the slaying. He was allowed to return to the United States and was never charged.)

Major actresses like Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave have expressed an interest in starring in a movie about Fossey.

This story seems to have it all: The tale of a courageous and hard-driving independent woman who was able to befriend a pack of wild animals. Then there is her death--who killed Fossey and why? And finally there is the African landscape as a cinematic backdrop.

But who will wind up with the movie? It is a safe bet that there will be just one Fossey feature made. Insiders say the market can only support one and since a movie like this will doubtlessly feature a star and a big budget, no two leading ladies will get involved in any head-to-head competition.

Will Universal and Warner Bros. go toe to toe until one caves in? Or will they team up and share production costs and profits? Or, will the scrappy independent--admittedly the long shot in the field--surprise everyone and win out?

Here are the three major players and the status of their movies:

Universal Pictures: In 1984 the studio bought the rights to Fossey’s book, “Gorillas in the Mist,” with the hope of developing a screenplay from it. The project languished, but Fossey’s death gave the story a dramatic finish. Several weeks ago, screenwriter Anna Hamilton Phelan (“Mask”) turned in her well-received screenplay titled “Gorillas in the Mist.” Neither Phelan, producer Arnold Glimcher nor a number of Universal production executives would comment on the project.

Heritage Entertainment: About eight months ago, Steloff read about Fossey’s death in the New York Times and saw an opportunity to develop a book and a movie. Within a few weeks, Farley Mowat, author of “Never Cry Wolf,” was on his way to Africa to do research and Steloff had closed a deal with Warner Books to publish “The Strange Life and Death of Dian Fossey.” In April, a full-page ad in weekly Variety announced the forthcoming book and motion picture. This week Steloff received an Ithaca, N.Y., probate judge’s decision that turned Fossey’s 18 years of meticulous diary entries and other writings over to her parents who signed a deal to cooperate with Heritage for a fee and a share of the movie profits.

Warner Bros: Last week a full-page four-color ad said the studio, in association with the Guber-Peters Co., was proud to announce “the start of production” in January, 1987, of “Heaven and Earth.” Billed as “Dian Fossey’s true story,” no cast was announced, but Bob Rafelson (“The Postman Always Rings Twice”) was listed as director, and screenwriter Tab Murphy was listed as the writer. Turned in a few weeks ago, according to one veteran literary agent, the script is under lock and key at the Guber-Peters offices on the Warner Bros. lot. “A lot of very important people have tried to get a look at that script,” the agent said. “You can’t get near it.”

The ad for “Heaven and Earth” was meant as a message to the movie-making community. “They were trying to tell Universal, ‘Back off, we’re a step ahead of you,’ ” said Steloff. Another agent put it more bluntly: “They (Warner Bros.) were trying to get the other parties to give up.”

But that’s unlikely. Though no one was willing to comment on the record, a number of Universal executives and several Warner Bros. production executives said the two studios might be in discussion about joining forces. Studios have previously shared production costs and profits: In 1974, for example, 20th Century Fox owned a book called “The Tower” and Warner Bros. had a book called “The Glass Inferno.” The joint project wound up as “The Towering Inferno.”

In the Fossey wars, the irony is that the front runner is Warner Bros., the studio with the least visible raw material to work from; Universal and Heritage have books as source material. “There are quite a few rights we have acquired but I am not allowed to discuss what they are,” director Bob Rafelson said. “All I can tell you is we are going ahead with plans to make ours.”

Rafelson, who has taken off as long as five years between projects (“Five Easy Pieces”), is excited about this movie and believes he can attract a major star. “It’s an extraordinary role for a woman,” he said. “It would be quite surprising that given some of the successful collaborations I have had with women in the past that a part of this nature would not be attractive to most leading actresses.”

The full-page ad that appeared in Variety hit producer Steloff like a knife in the stomach. “I thought we were well ahead of everyone else on this one, and we might still be,” he said. “I feel like every other independent producer worth his salt. I’m going to zig when they zag and zag when they zig. I’m exhilarated.”

Steloff said that because he has a deal with Fossey’s parents and because his writer has the exclusive rights to Fossey’s writings, his story may attract the big talent because it will be seen as the most authentic. “What this does is give us the hard cutting edge on the material. We have the insight into her life.”

But time may be working against Steloff, who dispatched a team of researchers to Africa to get more detail on Fossey. Warner Bros. and Universal have scripts in hand. It will be months before anyone can write a script based upon a book that has yet to be completed. “Her diaries don’t mean a damn thing because Hollywood will make the story they want to make,” said one agent who has been watching the maneuverings with great interest. “If Steloff had any brains, he would do it as a four-hour TV miniseries. The players are just too big for him.”

“They won’t make the right picture without us,” said Steloff who said he has no fear of taking on the studios. Another interesting irony in all of this is that Warner Books is publishing “The Strange Life and Death of Dian Fossey.” According to Steloff, Warner Books was approached about six months ago by an unnamed party about selling the film rights to the book Steloff controls, but he refused.

The Fossey saga provides a textbook example of how difficult it is for studios to find powerful material. While one would have to give the edge to Universal and Warner Bros. in this battle, don’t count Heritage out yet. Several years ago there were two mermaid projects making the studio rounds. “Mermaid” featured Warren Beatty, director Herb Ross, producer Ray Stark and writer Robert Towne. The other featured then little-known producer Brian Grazer and newcomer Daryl Hannah.

Disney took a gamble on “Splash,” which became a blockbuster. “Mermaid,” with all its big-name talent and powerful backers, was never made.

It remains to be seen who will shoot the final chapter in the intriguing Dian Fossey story.