SAHARA AUTHOR SUED OVER ‘BOOK PROFIT LIES’
LATEST: The producer of the film adaptation of SAHARA blames the movie’s failure on author CLIVE CUSSLER and alleged ‘lies’ he told about how many of his books were actually sold.
Crusader Entertainment boss PHILIP ANSCHUTZ is embroiled in a bitter court battle over the book’s 2005 movie adaptation, which starred PENELOPE CRUZ and MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY and recorded losses of $105 million (£53.8 million).
Cussler is suing the film’s makers for breach of contract, while producer Anschutz is counter suing the author for deception over the sale of the books alleging novels featuring the heroic character DIRK PITT sold less than half off the 100 million copies he was originally told.
The producer’s lawyer ALAN RADER says, "Cussler and his agent had gotten away with these numbers for years. It was a lie and it doomed the movie." However, Cussler’s lawyer BERTRAM FIELDS rubbishes the claims: "They are pulling these numbers out of the air. They made up this claim because they have no answers to Mr Cussler’s lawsuit." Cussler believes his initial brief of "absolute control" over his book’s big screen adaptation was compromised, which led to it becoming a box office flop.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
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