Untamed Heart agent, MGM had greenlighted the project. Originally, the film was titled "The Baboon Heart" in honor of an infant named Baby Fae (born 14 October 1984) who received a cross-species heart transplant from a baboon to fix a congenital heart defect. Initially, Bill had not considered Christian Slater for the role of Adam, “but then it was just the obvious choice." For the role of Caroline, Bill remembered auditioning Marisa Tomei for his earlier film, "Five Corners". While she had been too young for that role, after her success with "My Cousin Vinny" he felt she was right for the
Baboon Woman Saks has rescued, fostered and rehabilitated individual orphaned and injured vervet monkeys and chacma baboons. Most of the primates in her care have been orphaned after their mothers were shot by humans. When Karin receives an ill baby baboon to foster, his potential future to be returned into the wild is followed, resulting in him interacting with two wild troops. One of these troops naturally starts to accept him when he begins to interact with individuals who visit the land where Karin, her partner and a number of rescued non-human primates reside. The documentary focuses on Karin's work with baboons;