In the late 1970s Tiahoga Ruge was an assistant to Fellini, and upon learning of the filmmaker's interest in Castaneda's work, arranged an introduction between the two men in Los Angeles. They later traveled together to Yucatan where Castaneda abandoned the filmmaker, but Fellini ending up spending a month.
"My film project based on Castaneda's stories upset, alarmed or alerted a particular group of people," Fellini told an Italian newspaper. "The 'friends' of his writings tolerated Castaneda, but when they realized that a film would disclose their mysteries they intervened to scare him."