The film's villain character ("Doctor Eric Kiviat") is loosely based off Dr. Roy Mackal (University of Chicago; biologist, engineer, teacher and biochemist) and his voyages to Africa in search of the legendary living dinosaurs of the Congo, Mokele-Mbembe. Mackal's 1980 Congo trip with fellow cryptozoologist, James Powell, was a featured segment on an episode of "Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World" television series.