May 3, 2007 7:17 am US/Mountain
Attorney: 'Sahara' Author Inflated Number Of Books
By Greg Risling, AP Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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"Sahara," starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, grossed about $68 million at the box office. (File)
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Philip Anschutz (file)
CBS
A disputed contract between a movie production company and Clive Cussler wouldn't have existed if the author and his literary agent hadn't grossly inflated the number of books Cussler sold, an attorney said Wednesday during closing arguments of a trial involving the film "Sahara."
Attorney Marvin Putnam told jurors his client, Crusader Entertainment, was defrauded by Cussler and his agent, Peter Lampack, before the parties agreed to make "Sahara," which was based on the author's action-adventure book of the same name.
Putnam said Crusader's owner, Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, paid an unprecedented amount -- $10 million-- to adapt a book into a film because he believed Cussler had sold 100 million books. Anschutz is one of the richest men in the United States. He co-owns the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and a company that operates Los Angeles' Staples Center.
"Without that fraud ... we wouldn't have had the contract," Putnam said. "This deal would never have happened."
The legal dustup between Cussler and Crusader Entertainment involves dueling lawsuits over "Sahara," which starred Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz. The 2005 film grossed only $68 million in the U.S. and Crusader's attorneys claim it lost more than $80 million.
Cussler sued the company, now known as Bristol Bay Productions, claiming it reneged on a contract that gave him approval rights over the screenplay.
Crusader filed a countersuit, claiming Cussler lied about the number of books he sold, did not cooperate during the filmmaking process and bad-mouthed the movie before its release.
Each side seeks millions of dollars in damages. The case is expected to go to the jury this week.
Cussler's attorney, Bert Fields, argued earlier this week that jurors should examine the contract between the parties in which Cussler was given creative control. Fields said jurors shouldn't be sidetracked by "sideshows and smokescreens."
Putnam argued "Sahara" wasn't a box-office bomb and earned more than $200 million. He said more than 1,000 people worked on the movie and all were paid, including Cussler, but it was Crusader that took a loss.
"In fact, everyone who made money went on to new jobs, except for Crusader," he said.
The three-month trial has featured testimony from producers, screenwriters, lawyers and Cussler, who all gave reasons why "Sahara" was difficult to make and why it lost money.
The movie was projected to be the first in a possible franchise starring Cussler's alter ego, Dirk Pitt. Crusader had the rights to two books and a potential option on a third.
Cussler, 75, has been called the "Grandmaster of Adventure." He has written 32 books, 19 of which feature Pitt.
Putnam argued because Cussler lied about the number of books he sold -- an audit found the number was around 40 million at the time the contract was negotiated in 2000 -- it led Crusader executives to believe they had a potentially larger audience than there was.
"It's anything but a sideshow. It's anything but a smokescreen," Putnam said of the number of books sold. "It's the main event. It's why we are here."
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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