Clive Cussler filed a complaint against Crusader Entertainment alleging violation of certain of his approval rights contained in an Option/Literary Purchase Agreement (the "Agreement") relating to novels written by him. The complaint is informative in setting forth the nature of the approval rights which Cussler was able to obtain and indicating the difficulty that one may encounter in attempting to enforce those rights.

The Agreement, dated as of May 9, 2001, grants to Crusader the option to purchase motion picture rights in and to novels written by Cussler. The complaint alleges that the Agreement provides that (a) Cussler would have an unqualified right of approval over the screenplays for Crusader's pictures based on his novels, (B.) the approved screenplay would not be materially changed without Cussler's written consent and ( c) if Crusader does not commence principal photography of a screenplay approved by Cussler no later than 24 months after the exercise of its initial option, Crusader would have no further options to purchase rights in other Cussler novels and Cussler could cause Crusader to purchase for 10 million dollars a third Cussler novel subject to all of the terms of the Agreement, including Cussler's approval rights.

According to the complaint, during 2001 Crusader exercised its initial option under the Agreement to acquire the motion picture rights in two specific Cussler novels.

Plaintiffs (which are Cussler and certain corporate entities) allege that Cussler approved of a screenplay for Crusader's initial picture under the Agreement and that Crusader thereafter materially altered the approved screenplay without his written consent and began to film a motion picture based upon that altered screenplay. They claim that more than 24 months have passed since Crusader's exercise of its initial option and that Crusader has never commenced principal photography of a motion picture based upon the screenplay Cussler has approved, which was a condition to Crusader's exercise of future options under the Agreement.

Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment so that the parties may know their respective rights and obligations. They also seek damages in excess of 10 million dollars as a result of the purported breach by Crusader of the terms and conditions of the Agreement.

The complaint alleges that, by Crusader's filming a motion picture based upon a screenplay which is not one approved by Cussler (and, in fact one specifically disapproved by him), and by Crusader's intending to advertise and publicly announce that Cussler was the Executive Producer of the disapproved Picture (a role in which he is not serving), there will be untrue and misleading assertions which will falsely attribute to Cussler approval, endorsement and sponsorship of the picture in violation of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act.

Further, the complaint alleges that at the time Crusader made the promises to Cussler contained in the Agreement, it had no intention of keeping them and, thus, it made false and fraudulent promises in order to induce plaintiffs to enter into the Agreement. Most particularly, plaintiffs are concerned with paragraph 20B of the Agreement which limits plaintiffs' remedies for Crusader's breach to an action at law for money damages.

Plaintiffs claim that they would not have entered into the Agreement and would not have accepted the limitation of its remedies for breach of the Agreement in paragraph 20B had it known that Crusader did not intend to keep its promises and intended, instead, to ignore Cussler's approval rights and to film whatever screenplay it chose, even if disapproved by Cussler.

Accordingly, plaintiffs allege that, because of Crusader's fraud, they are entitled to reform the Agreement to delete paragraph 20B, thereby permitting them to exercise any and all of their legal and equitable remedies for Crusader's breach. It further states that if Crusader is not enjoined from so acting, Crusader will make the disapproved picture based upon a screenplay which is materially different from the approved screenplay and will distribute and exploit that disapproved picture throughout the world in flagrant violation of Cussler's essential creative rights. This will cause Cussler severe and irreparable harm for which he has no adequate remedy at law, in that the making of the Agreement and Cussler's approval rights were of the essence and are unique creative rights, the loss of which are not fully measurable in dollars, rendering the full amount of his damages difficult, if not impossible to quantify.

The complaint highlights the difficulties which a rightsholder of stature (which normally is what is required to obtain any approval rights) may encounter in attempting to enforce approval rights he has obtained. Having obtained certain approval rights, the rightsholder still is faced with the provision contained in almost all motion picture agreements limiting his remedies to an action at law for money damages alone. At times it may be possible to negotiate for a provision that enables the rightsholder to have injunctive relief in certain specific situations in which there is no possible ambiguity as to whether a particular event has occurred. For example, the author of a series of books in which there is a continuing character may provide that the character may not be killed in any motion picture, and if this provision is violated, the author would be entitled to injunctive relief. This is contrasted with a provision providing that the character may not be shown committing any criminal activity. Because the scope of the term "criminal activity" is so broad and possibly blurred, it would be quite difficult to obtain a provision allowing for injunctive relief if this clause is violated.

Plaintiffs in the Cussler action have attempted to have the "no injunctive relief" clause reformed based upon its theory of fraudulent inducement. If this case proceeds to a point in which decisions are rendered, it will be interesting to see how a court deals with the legal issues involved.

F O O T N O T E

Cussler et al v. Crusader Entertainment LLC et al, Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, Case No. BC309114 (Complaint filed January 15, 2004)

It's always a shame when two parties to an agreement wind up going to court. I believe there's too much litigation as it is. We need more arbitrators. If people would just act honorably there would not be a need for such a hassle. As Lord Bacon wrote, "Lawyers should be shot". :lol:

Mistakes and pride, curmudgeonlyness, but a great movie was made. All this lawsuit is doing now, is impeding the progress of the next Clive Cussler novel-based movie that fans are waiting for!!! I wonder how book sales have been--I bet they increased. My pre-release order is finally on the way, two of them, and with the Sahara DVD!!! Get those movies made before everyone is too old!!!! Mathew is aging normally (unlike Dirk Pitt did!!!) and so am I (and I am a Vietnam vet, and pilot--but only an underwater explorer/seafarer in reading Clive's books or watching the movie--I don't count the RTT one). Clive, we know you want perfection(which just isn't possible), and you don't need the money. Don't be a stick in the mud to your fans, please. I want to remember you as a good guy. snor: det: th: :) b:

This article mentions 'a third' Cussler novel. Did he sell 2? What is the other one? :unsure:

There were 3 novels involved, Sahara, Night probe, and Inca Gold

I hope everything gets worked out to everyones advantage...and by everyone I mean Cusslers fans! :lol: And Cussler of course! I wish they would have stuck to their end as they were supposed to do, but maybe everything will get worked out. I'm glad they made Sahara and I really hope they make Night Probe and especially Inca Gold. Maybe they will go back to the start and make Med Caper and we can get a naked Dirk! :P But I do hope everything gets hashed out, and soon, so they can start on the others! Any reason why those three bookes were picked and not ones in sequence?

I find the controversy over Sahara interesting because I don’t know the basis of the problem between the two parties. Obviously the moviemaker did not do something that the author wanted. What was it?

I purchased the DVD. The first time I watched it I was disappointed because I have read and re-read the book and know the story line well. I listened to the commentary extra feature where it was explained why the airplane background footage was dropped. This reminded me that the filmmaker has 90 minutes to tell the story. Audiences today will not tolerate “Dr. Zivago” length movies. I watched the movie again asking myself if the moviemaker told the story and developed the characters of Dirk and Al. I also asked myself if the movie viewer was not familiar with the book did the story get told in a manner that could be understood. (The “Pelican Brief” movie requires you to have read the book because there are scenes that are not adequately explained without knowledge of the book.) Viewing with stand-alone story line in mind I found an appreciation for the movie. Dirk and Al’s long time friendship was illustrated well. They were the Dirk and Al I love in the novels. Background footage was well done. I was drawn into the atmosphere. The story had continuity that I could follow without prior knowledge from the book. I liked the characters. Finding the airplane in the desert and creating a land sailer, which is my favorite scene, did not suffer from lack of background. The movie stands alone and is good entertainment.

Strangely, because I know the author hates it, I was introduced to Cussler by the movie Titanic. I started buying his books because of the movie, and I have all of them. I now understand his complaints with that movie as it cut out Al and the relationship between them. It also did not develop the relationship Dirk had with the Admiral or other characters. It was more like a National Geographic special of Dr. Ballard searching for the Titanic. Sahara was about Dirk and Al. Sahara made me want to see more movies with these two loveable characters. Who cares if every detail of the book is not included? I want to see more Dirk and Al out adventuring, cracking wise with each other, and obviously enjoying the adventure. And I get to go along from the safety of my easy chair.

As a parting shot – When I read a Cussler novel I see movie scenes. He writes as though it was a screenplay. Often I have thought he was setting up the movie for the screenwriters. Yet again he was dissatisfied. Why?

Hmmm. Let's see. Clive Cussler spends his entire adult life (after gambling away a successful advertising career) writing a series of books from The Mediterranean Caper in 1973 to Black Wind in 2005. The characters he created are very dear to him. He is happy with his books that have made him wealthy and loved by his readers.

32 years of creation and making us all happy with his books.

And then he is promised in a contract that his characters and stories will be faithfully brought to the movie screen.

But that promise turns out to be a lie. Cussler gets screwed by Hollywood. Again, lest we forget Raise the Titantic!

I don't blame him a bit for suing the bastards!

By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Perhaps a settlement out of court will allow more Pitt films but truely with Cussler's approval.

Or maybe another film company will get the rights and hire the same actors....

I was a little bit bothered by the lack of feeling between Al & Dirk in Sahara, but
I was just glad to see them on the big screen. I want another one! I hope all
of this mess doesn't affect those of us who are loyal to Cussler. w:

Sherry

t: I have to agree with some of the comments made. I too started reading Clive Cussler novels after seeing Raise the Titanic after which I read the novel and I was hooked. I have all his books with Dirk and Al and all the Numa files and Oregon files books. I also have to say if I was him I would be upset in that the Sahara movie could have been better. I loved the movie and I own the DVD but I was disappointed that they made Dirk and Al ex navy seals when in fact they were in the Air Force and secondly they made the search for the Gold the primary story line instead of the Toxic waste problem and they cut out the whole story line of the WHO people being imprizoned in the mines of Tebeeza. But the characters work well together the comraderie was there between Dirk and Al all in all it was Very Good. I didnt however like the portrayal of Rudi Gunn as being a spineless geek as they did because we all know from the books he is a tough no nonsense guy.

Clive I dont want you to compromise your principles in this matter , stick to your guns but as a fan please settle this because I really want to see the other two movies made, especially Night Probe since it is my favorite work of yours. Your fans are behind you all the way but we still want to see those movies made. I will keep buying your books as long as you keep writing them.

I for one will be waiting patiently for the next movie. I would also like to see a Kurt Austin NUMA Files movie made as well. Keep em coming Clive, you are the best. th:

I'd be really interested to know what the approved screenplay involved, and how it was different from the one they used. Different ending? Different scenes? Different essential plot focus? Does anyone know?

I, too, can understand why Clive is doing this, but I wish he would listen to his fans who are absolutely craving more Dirk Pitt movies. Even a settlement out of court would prevent more movies from being made, because Crusader won't have enough cash left to even make the movie.

I don't think I saw this anywhere in the original post, nor in any of the replies (I may have missed it), but I was informed by a member of the Cussler family that the trial for this lawsuit has been postponed until May 2006. No reason was shared, only the fact that it has been delayed. We'll have to wait longer now for a resolution in other words.

AND for more movies! yike:

Thanks for the update, Ace.

[B]Well...it seems that the majority of Cusslerites enjoyed the movie. At times I did too but I am not the average Cussler fan. I discovered Cussler as an impressionable teen and I feel some sense that these characters were created just for me. When Raise The Titanic came out I almost threw up it was so bad....almost no character development and couldnt believe how bad the casting was (although Richard Jordan as Dirk was not a bad choice) I was horrified at how they changed the Al Giordino character for Sahara and dont understand why it is that the most successful series of adventure novels cant get picked up by a studio that would be as faithful to it as other franchises. This crap about not being able to put in scenes they excised from Sahara because audiences wont tolerate a movie beyond ninety minutes is just that....CRAP! Case in point.....Star Wars (two and a half hours) Lord of the Rings ( three hours) Harry Potter (two hours and fourty minutes) and hundreds of others. The reason the scenes were cut? MONEY! They had already sunk a small fortune into the production and couldnt afford a longer film. Plain and simple.

Mr. Cussler, with all due respect, should take control of his empire himself....write, produce and cast films based on his characters. Its the only way we will all be completely satisfied with the end results.

Your loving Uncle Al...... co: beer: p: ;)

I was sitting in the chair watching endless previews when one cought my attention: Evil French industrialist... Plane in the desert... Plague... Corrupt General... 2 heros... Beautiful doctor... I said to my self that I know that story. In my mind names, places and plot began to flow. My date looked at me like I was crazy. I mumbled "Sahara" under my nose and was right.

I did see the movie and read all the books. I also considered my self a big Dirk fan and the only one too until stumbling upon this forum. Was I disapointed with the movie? Yes and no. Yes because I expected much better character development, more plot and more background info that would make a series more exciting in the future. But also I wasn't disapointed because it was a good movie and gave me a different view on what I had in mind as far as the characters go. I think that because I read Sahara I wanted to see all the voids filled. Also it wasn't really that brand oriented as last 007 movies. Doxa is one of the few elements that keep repeating itself thru all the books. Matthew was a good choice for a character and entire cast brought in something special. I just hope than next movie will be more centered about doing some actual diving.

I respect Mr. Cuslers will and support him in his decission in filling a law suit. However like it was mentioned here it will delay production of future movies.

Funny stuff! Welcome to the forum, polak187. Obviously you had no idea that Sahara was turned into a movie, but Hollywood left enough of the keywords for you to recognise the Dirk Pitt adventure you once read.

Well like I said I had no idea about such a big following that Mr. Cussler's novels have. I did hear thou about failure of Rise the TItanic movie and I assumed that he will never want to film anything else. Seeing Sahara preview was a nice suprise.

Also is it me or Mr. Cussler is really writing a lot lately? I guess I was just busy running around and I do visit a bookstores often but out of the suden he is running three different story lines ( and set of characters) that are connected yet independed from each other.

MAtt

I'd be interested to know just how much "writing" he does these days. With his son taking over the Pitt series, Paul Kemprecos handling the Austin series, and Jack DeBrul running the Oregon files, what exactly does Clive contribute? Plot ideas? Editorial review? Constructive criticism? Or is he actual penning chapters? Anyone know?

Sorry if this isn't the right thread for this...

From what I know, Clive sits down with the co-author (Paul or Jack in this case) and hashes out the main points of the plot. The co-author then actually writes the book itself. In fact, when I asked Clive to sign my advanced copy of Dark Watch last month in Denver he kind of jokingly asked why and said it was Jack's book. This said with a big old smirk on his face while he signed the book!!

Thanks, Ace! Hopefully he pays his co-authors well...

I wonder who could write the early stories that occur between Clive's books of Dirk and Al. It would be great to see them at it with each other in some tales that would be more straightforward than the usual historical prologue. I would hate to see these aging characters continue with just appearances or fighting bad guys while taking arthritis medicine to limber up between the fights. p:

Well when you think of it Dirk and Al are kind of done... The plot of retirment was brought out over and over in the last book. Marriage also seemed to seal the faith of Dirk. I think that character evolved so much over the years that I enjoy latter books more even thou plots of the earlier books are better. Dirk went from cocky playboy to a gentelman. Would that be bad to finish of the story right here? Not at all. Kurt and Joe got pleanty of lives left in them. Oregon files also are spreading their wings. Now there is always "an issue" of Summer and Dirk Jr. They seem to get in trouble all the time and need dad to bail them out so unless they get some survival skills put into them I don't see how they can pick up the series. Dont get me wrong guys I love adventures of Pitt and Al as much as you do and thank to them a lot of long night on the ambulance went fast but the plots are getting little too similar.

Does anyone know what it was about the script that Clive Cussler didn't like? I really liked the movie and the Dirk and Al characters. I'd never read a Cussler book before, but he's my husband's favorite author. The movie made me go out and get the book.

There are a LOT of differences between the book and the movie, sure, but that's to be expected. It was a very long book, with a complicated plot, so there was no way it could really have translated over to movie form intact. I think the movie did a good job of presenting the "atmosphere" of the book, for the most part, but changes did have to be made to make the movie come in under two hours and coherent in a movie format. I really hope that Clive wasn't expecting the book plot to translate exactly, because I haven't read any of his books yet that would translate well into a movie format - plot intact, that is. If he's insisting on that, we'll never see another Dirk & Al movie - which I would be really disappointed about.


Shadoe

One gripe Clive told me about was the cannonball from the Texas hitting Kazim's helicopter. Typical Hollywood baloney. <_<

A little late but SharkLuver, you are the greatest! Your comment on Med Caper being made into a movie with the chance to see a naked Dirk Pitt ;) (Cough, cough MATTHEW!), beautiful! You and me, we think alike. :lol:

Who wouldn't want that?!?!?! ;)

I liked that part in some ways, I guess I thought it was kind of funny, but I really wish the French Fort Fight was in the movie (the three "F's" in a row were too good to pass up...) But there were things about it that I didn't like as well. I hope everythings gets settled soon, I want some Inca Gold!!!!

whats phonyabout a cannon ball hitting a helicopter? improbable yeah, but impossible no.. civil war ballons were shot down with cannon balls at much further range than the helicopter in the movie. and it wasnt movie as i recall pretty stationary.. cussler writes stores about bath tubs crossing the ocean and gets upset by a cannon ball.. its a movie not a literal interpretation of the book. cussler has more than enough money to secure financing for his own movie version of his stories and chose not to do so.. id rather he focus on whether his fans are happy with the movie.. most of us just wanted a movie or 2 or 3 whether its perfect or not didnt bother me.. whether it followed the entire story line i didnt care.. i wanted to see Dirk and bigger than life person on the screen and i saw that.. im still waiting for that perfect movie never seen one yet.

For as many of his books I have read, I love them all. When i heard about the movie comming out I was excited and wanting to see it, then i heard about that they had changed quite a bit in the movie. At that point i didnt really care to see the movie because of some of the best parts of the book were being altered or changed. to me I just wish they would honestly make a movie from a book and not change half of it. I think that the true fans would like it more. go get them Cussler.

Welcome upperdeck and timbrwolf55! You've made some really good points. Enjoy your time here, and post often! w:

But... it was so cool! :)

So, we've got a movie about a Civil War ironside in the Sahara desert, a toxic waste dump that no one knows about that is dumping chemicals into the ocean, from the middle of the Sahara, via a river that somehow went through the Sahara about a hundred years ago, but somehow disappeared so completely that no one even remembers it, but no one notices the chemicals which are killing a bunch of people, and they make a land yacht out of a downed airplane... But he has a beef about a cannonball?

I'll admit, I've only read a book and a half of his, but I've read some summaries about the rest and lots and lots of comments about the book plots. I'd think that a certain suspension of disbelief rather comes with the territory. Or is that just me? :)


Shadoe

I am inclined to agree with you shadoe, but I can understand Dr. Cusslers pov. It did seem a bit farfetched with the canonball but it is just a movie. You should really pick up some more books of his and read them...I'm sure you'll like them! Nice of you to join us...join in the conversations anytime!!

I can understand. I do some writing myself, so I understand how easy it is to get attached. And after a dozen or so books, the attachment has to be pretty strong. :)

But still, I'd like to see more movies.

I picked up some of his books. I read Sahara and half of Vixen 03. Had to stop halfway because there's no Dirk, no Al and the book - bought used - smelled like an ashtray. It's now airing out. I'm going to try to pick up some of his earlier works and start at the beginning.


Shadoe

In my edition of Vixen chapter one starts with "Dirk Pitt" and Al arives on p. 49.

My lawyer brother replies:
"That is an intelligent analysis of the issue of enforcing consultation rights. If I were a betting man, I would wager that Cussler will lose, because his fraud argument requires him to prove that the other party lacked the intention to honor the provisions at the time they entered the contract, and that is almost impossible to prove. I show my students a clip from a movie called Sweet Liberty in which an author discovers that his right of consultation is not worth very much. The director listens to all of his complaints and then says, "Thank you. We've had our consultation." "

Did he have consultation rights or authoritative rights? :blink:

Hey, I know what you mean. I can't remember which book, maybe it was Vixen 03, but I remember getting upset because there was no Dirk or Al forever! I kept thinking...one more page...they'll be on the next page... finally they showed up and everything was fine from then on out! But getting to the MAIN characters sometimes takes awhile. There is so much that needs to be set up before we meet our heroes...

Oh sorry. I should have been more clear. About halfway through the book, there's a very long period during which neither of them appears. That's also the part where the smoke smell got really bad. The combination convinced me to move on. Of course, the Amazon shipment might have had something to do with it as well.

I'm reading Inca Gold now and really enjoying it. :)

I love Inca Gold! You really will like it! Happy Reading!

I am enjoying it. Lots of action and stuff going on. It's actually - dare I admit it - better than Sahara.

yike: Blasphemer!! :lol: