The original idea for 'the Creature from the Black Lagoon' actually came from Amazonian legend. In the 40's, Producer william Allen overheard cinematographer Gabriele Figeroa (who shot 'the Pearl' and 'night of the Iguana' for John Huston, amongst others) telling the tale of a half-fish, half-man during a dinner party at Orson Well's home. Figeroa actually claimed that he had SEEN the creature and could produce a photo of it. During my research of Amazonian wildlife, I found that the legend also matches the Amazonian River Dolphin, a pinkish, almost human-like creature, and that the local tribes believe that it is a Shapeshifter. Unlike many of the other 'Gill Man' that I've seen, I wanted to approach it from a different angle, and try to make my Creature more like a Neanderthal man, and make him look more like one of the local tribespeople, but with subtle fish properties.