No matter how much we love the wild animals, we may never truly understand how their minds work. A trip to Africa by actress Tipi Hedren, Noel Marshal, her husband and actress Melanie Griffith their daughter, made them want to create a movie on lions. This was after some advice by an animal trainer named Ron Oxley, who told them that “to get to know about lions, you’ve got to live with them for a while.” The family started living with Neil the lion and Michael Rougier, Life photographer, documented their life.

According to the photos taken, their life with Neil was great. The movie however, which the family went on to make, was a different story.  Melanie was attacked by one of the lionesses and had to get 50 facial stitches while cinematographer Jan De Bont’s scalp was sewn back on after he was bitten by a lion. The 150 predatory cats that were cast in the movie ‘Roar’ wounded 70 people. The cost of production was $17.5 million although the movie grossed only over $2 million.

After completing production of ‘Roar’, Hedren founded an animal sanctuary, Shambala Preserve, to protect neglected and mistreated exotic animals.

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