Denver Post
Article Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2004

'Sahara' storm clouds movie

Author Clive Cussler and Phil Anschutz's film company tangle over deal bringing Dirk Pitt thriller to the big screen

By Tom McGhee   

Clive Cussler has sued to block the film version of his novel ‘Sahara,’ saying his wishes were ignored.

Best-selling author and marine adventurer Clive Cussler is trying to sink a movie version of his book "Sahara" being produced by Denver financier Philip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment.

     Cussler, who lived in Colorado for years before moving to Arizona, sued Crusader early this year claiming the company ignored his wishes in making the movie.

     Crusader fired back last week with a counterclaim, accusing Cussler of delaying production of the film and increasing its costs by at least $20 million.

     Cussler couldn't be reached for comment, and his Los Angeles lawyer, Bertram Fields, didn't return calls Monday.

     Cussler has written 26 books, which have sold 130 million copies, and he also has made international headlines by locating the remains of sunken ships.

     Anschutz, the co-founder of Denver-based Qwest Communications International, formed Crusader to provide family-oriented entertainment with a positive message. The company was recently renamed Bristol Bay Productions.

     Crusader officials spotted the potential for a new series of adventure movies similar to the "Indiana Jones" and "James Bond" films in Cussler's fictional adventurer Dirk Pitt, the star of "Sahara" and other Cussler novels, according to the company's complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

     "To option the rights to the entire series, Crusader paid Cussler an extremely handsome price - even by Hollywood standards," according to the complaint, which didn't specify the amount paid.

     But Cussler objected to scripts the company commissioned. Late last year, he told The Denver Post: "They've sent me seven scripts, and I've inserted each one in the trash can.

     "They say the love story is corny. Why don't they just fly out to Phoenix and slap me in the face?"

     In his suit, Cussler said Crusader's purchase of the motion picture rights gave him an unqualified right of approval over the screenplays.

     Though he approved a screenplay for the picture in 2001, Crusader later changed the script without his approval, his suit said.

     Crusader then began filming the movie, starring Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz and Steve Zahn.

     In the book, Pitt thwarts the attempted assassination of a female scientist who is investigating an epidemic in North Africa that drives thousands of people to madness, cannibalism and death.

     The movie is not yet scheduled for release, said Nancy Kirkpatrick, a spokeswoman for Paramount Pictures, which will distribute the film. "Sahara" is being shot in Morocco, Spain and London.

     Cussler asked the court to block the movie, saying Crusader violated his contract by making the film before he approved a script.

     He also is seeking at least $10 million in damages.

     In its 12-page response and counterclaim to Cussler's action, Crusader said Cussler rejected one screenplay, written by a screenwriter he had previously approved, without reading it.

     The author rejected the script because the screenwriter didn't travel to Arizona to receive his comments in person, the response said.

     "Dismissing the screenwriters Crusader had hired with his previous approval as 'clowns,' Cussler made a new demand that he be hired to write Sahara's screenplay. When Crusader declined, because Cussler lacked the requisite screenwriting experience, Cussler became vindictive," Crusader's complaint said.

     In subsequent media interviews, the complaint said, Cussler tarred Crusader and the movie to "foment opposition to the film among his fans, and to organize a fan campaign to coerce Crusader into letting Cussler write the screenplay."

     Cussler's public displeasure with the film will cause his fans and others to avoid the movie, Crusader's complaint said. His actions could result in the movie losing $40 million, the complaint said.

     Cussler's fans have jumped to defend their champion and ensure that his book is faithfully re-created. An Internet petition, posted at the Society of the Cusslermen, a fan-club website, demands that Crusader and Paramount allow Cussler to write the screenplay for "Sahara."

     "News about the scripts that Dr. Cussler has received does not stay faithful to his novel. ... We would like to see the cannibal village scene that production team considered 'as not dramatic enough.' We would like to see the romance between Dirk and Eva that your production, again, thought was 'corny,"' the petition said.

     Gabriel Waters, who is listed as the petition's author, couldn't be reached for comment.