Here is a link to a story in the LA TImes about the impending lawsuit Clive has over the movie Sahara and future Pitt movies.

Look for Inside the Cussler/Anschutz lawsuit

http://www.hollywoodwiretap.com

Anschutz also alleges that Cussler made derogatory remarks about blacks and Jews while exercising his approvals.


Ouch!!!!!! If Anschutz is stooping that low, then seems to me his company did Cussler wrong. Interesting that this statement get priority over breech of contract. That's just my 2 cents. Outcome of the trial will be interesting.

I actually loved the movie BUT it is what introduced me to Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt. I watched the extras on the DVD and saw it was based on his book. I looked him up on the internet and found out it was a series of novels. I started reading at the first book (Pacific Vortex) and am getting ready to start Dragon next week.

Obviously I haven't read Saraha yet and I am anticipating it being better than the moive based on what I have read but I feel that it was a good movie. If I would have seen it at the theater I would have still loved but I'm glad I didn't because I wouldn't know anything about the world of Dirk Pitt.

oh man, Coach, you are in for a real treat when you get to Sahara. The movie was good as a movie, but the book is wayy better. I'm glad the movie got you into the books. Keep on reading and enjoying!

From the article:

"Anschutz...was forced to abandon plans for several Dirk Pitt sequels"

I guess that answers that question.

"legal documents...show exasperated studio executives, producers and directors scheming and back-stabbing over the $145-million production"

Sounds like there were more problems than just the script. I can't believe how poorly this whole situation/movie was handled. What a bunch of lame-o's.

"he alleged that Cussler sought to blackmail his film company by withholding consent over the script unless it agreed to use the novelist's own screenplay."

Clive wrote his own screenplay?!? Why the hell wasn't that one used?? Clive should just produce his own movie.

"The third Pitt novel, "Raise the Titanic!", was made into a 1980 film starring Jason Robards."

Did Sandecker really have a bigger role than Dirk?

"Cussler's approval rights troubled the movie's creative personnel, who were unaccustomed to catering to the whims of a novelist."

So? Do it anyway! I can't believe how many 'writers' were credited on this movie. Weren't there like 5 writers? Too many cooks in the kitchen if you ask me.

"Studio officials at Paramount, the distributor of "Sahara," resisted Cussler's active participation in the script"

Again, why was this so hard to understand? Just...do...it.

"'Paramount has always been cagey in that respect — urging us to keep you out of the loop and lie when necessary,' Baldwin wrote Cussler in July 2003. 'Essentially, Paramount feels … the author should not have much input when it comes to script.'"

The author should not have much input when it comes to an adaptation of his own work? Does this make anyone else' blood just boil and boil?

Ok, I'm done quoting. The more I learn of the process and the hollywood bullmanure, the more my head wants to explode.

Thanks for the article though, Julie. It's a fascinating read. (For anyone who didn't notice, there are 6 pages to it. So don't give up after the first page).

Ok, I'm not done reading. They wanted to cut the beach rescue?!? That scene is essential.

This is maddening. (I'm going to keep reading though :P )

I'm not surprised Clive got upset when they wanted to cast an African-American as Giordino. The only character based on a real person... and one of Clive's best friends to boot. Sounds like the writers/producers not only never read the book but had no idea who Clive is at all. Perhaps if they took the time to get to know the man, they'd have been more sensitive to his brilliance.

I'm really beginning to despise this Karen Baldwin person.

Wow, after reading the whole article and all the e-mail snippets and whatnot, it's really amazing at how they treated the writing/re-writing/production of this movie. I am ashamed for them, and my heart goes out to Clive. I really really want more Pitt movies, but what a disaster that process was. Now who can calm my jangled nerves? yike:

Thanks Oswalder for the welcome and the heads up on the Sahara book.

Based on what the article said about producers and movie executives about wanting to keep authors out of the loop as much as possible really surprised me. I mean I know most of the time you got to cut parts of the book out to make it fit on the big screen timewise and the authors being protective is understandable.

But even though they pay money to make the movie they still DON"T OWN the idea or concept of what the movie is about - that is still the author. Just because you pay money for something doesn't mean you own it.

That amazes me.

On a positive note - as I read the article I probably read the funniest thing I have ever read in my life. It was when they were talking to the producer for the Raise the Titantic and how poorly it fared in the theaters - he said "It would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic"

I laughed for several minutes on that one. I read it while I was giving a test in one of my classes and they stopped and looked at me.

Hey Erik, Ace actually put the article up for us to read not me. Thanks Ace.

I don't blame Clive at all for being upset. WHen I went to the premiere David, my hubby, had to tell me about 20 times to "SHHHH" because I kept voicing my disappoval at what had been changed, starting with the opening scene where Dr. John was singing and saw the article on the wall about Dirk being a Navy Seal.

I know we could go on and on like we've done in the past about this movie but again I wish Clive well and hope the court systems side with him.

Hmm, not sure how I bungled that one. Probably so mad at reading the article that I wasn't seeing straight. :blink:

Thanks ACE! th:

And I don't even think I'm quite as frustrated with the actual changes in the end as I am with how the process worked. They kept paying stupid writers hundreds of thousands of dollars to re-write the whole dang script. WTF?

This whole thing is disgusting. A contract is binding for both parties. You don't get to ignore the contract because it annoys you. As far as I can tell, Cussler has every right to be pissed.

So no sequels? Darnit! Cussler, I love your books and all, but the Sahara movie was great. More movies like that are needed.

I think the best thing if there is to be another Dirk Pitt adventure on the big screen would be for the CC forum to produce it. th:

It really is a shame that all this is happening. Sahara was a good, fun movie and has got more people like Coach into reading CC books. I;ve said this before.

My father-in-law just watched Sahara after he said he was into adventure-type books where something has to be unravelled. I just bought him Dragon as well which is the book (because of the cover) that got me into CC back in 1991.

So, the movie serves its purpose and it's a shame that there may not be sequels made. CC has every right to be doing what he is doing. DP, NUMA, Al etc etc are his creations.

Cheers beer:

Andy

Heh, that would be intersting. Hell, I could do the screenplay. LOL

Anyway, on to the topic at hand. Good God, was there this much going on behind the scenes with the making of this movie? After reading all of that I think it's fair to say that Anschutz knows he's not going to win and he's stooping to really low levels. In my opinion, I think that it's very clear that Clive was lied to and decived, and it was clear that he knew it too. Hence why later into the ordeal he was so angry with the people who met with him.

Regarding the court case, I have a strong feeling that Clive will come out on top, but my only fear is that some will belive what was said about the racial slurs and it will damage Clive's reputation.

Really, it's all a shame. I wanted to see more Pitt movies, and I was hoping that they would finally get it right. I guess not.

Wow...unreal.

First off I can't believe all the BS these people put Clive through. For shame. I really enjoyed the movie...saw it 4 times in the theatre and have the DVD and watch it often.
When friends come over I ask if they wanna see the best movie ever...next thing I know they're Cussler fans too.

It's a real shame that this has turned Clive off of any future movies as I could really see Dirk Pitt as the next Indiana Jones.

I'm flat out floored at how after 18 years of working together that Carol Bartholomeax turned on Clive! What happened to loyalty!

I WISH THERE WERE NO LAWSUIT OVER THE MOVIE. CLIVE THAT MOVIE WAS GOOD. IT FOLLOWED THE MOVIE AS BEST IT COULD IN A TWO HOUR SCHEDULE.

I HAVE BEEN READING YOUR BOOKS AND JUST COULDN'T GET SOME OF MY GIRLS FRIENDS INTO A ADVENTURE BOOK, THEY SEEM TO PREFER LOVE STORIES, BUT THAT MOVIE WITH MATTHEW GOT MY FIRENDS INTO READING YOU. NOW THEY SAY "HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN WRITING?" I SAY LONGER THAN YOUR AGE. SO CLIVE HOW CAN A MOVIE THAT STIRS THAT MUCH INTEREST FROM PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU WERE BE SO BAD? YOU HAVE TO ADMIT....IT SURE WAS BETTER THAN RAISING THE TITANTIC MOVIE.

ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVED BEST WAS THE BEGINNING WHEN THE GREAT MUSIC PLAYING AS THE CAMERA ROAMED AROUND THE ROOM FROM NEWS STORES ABOUT NUMA, HECK THAT STARTED PEOPLE WONDERING WHAT IS NUMA? GOT MY FRIENDS INTO RREADING ABOUT THE SHIPS YOU HAVE FOUND AND RAISED FROM THE SEA.

DOES THIS MEAN WE WILL NEVER ENJOY MATTHEW PLAYING DIRK PITT AGAIN? AT FIRST I WASN'T SO SURE OF HIM IN THE ROLE, BUT NOW I SEE HE PULLED IT OFF. WHAT A LOSE TO US ALL. :unsure:

Unless Clive goes to another movie making company or does it himself, it just may be another 20 some years until another movie is made!! yike:

Well, for what's it's worth. I haven't seen the movie yet but from the little i have heard of it I don't want to. the reason I say this is because of like the beach scene. It IS important to begin the whole book for one.


Also on another note can ANYONE tell me just when Dirk was a NAVY seal????

If Dirk never was a Navy seal then why portray the character as one? I think that is just wrong to not follow some of the important aspects of the book, like the basic and I mean basic background of the charactershould be accurate dont you think??


What would you have thought of the movie "the hunt for red october" if they had changed the important part of like the sub was chineese instead?? or maybe say that Jack Ryan was a retired general out of the Army?? I mean the origional background of the characters and what happens is integral to the storyline and sets the stage for the whole book.

Now that Dirk is a Navy Seal man I guess that his Air Force background is gone, does that apply to Al as well?? then Al would ahve to have been a Navy seal as well and not Air Force. Right??

Seriously I dont see how anyone who is a fan of the books can support the load of CRAP the movie was. It didnt show the caraters for who they are in the books. Zahn was a TERRIBLE Giordino. To top it off half the book wasn't even in the movie and the half that did make was pure action. I dont know about anyone else but I LOVE the intriuge in the books.

I have not met one fan of Clive's novels that thought the movie was good and portrayed the book well. Dirk was in the AIRFORCE not the Navy and he certainly was not in any special ops division. I hope he takes this lawsuit and screws over Regal cinemas even more than they already are (anyone who doesn't know Regal is bankrupt!!)

When and how did Clive Cussler misrepresent his book sales? It does not seem possible to "cook the books" on book sales.

I don't see how its possible to inflate book sales either. The publisher is the one that has the numbers on that, not Clive. If they really think that, all they need to do is subpoena the publisher's records and see for themselves how many books were sold rather than shooting their mouth off because they know they're wrong.

It ticks me off that Anschutz and his attorneys are trying to get more focus on Clive's so-called racial comments, rather than what the case is truly about -- breach of contract. Even if he did make racial slurs, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the movie company signed a contract giving Clive cast and script approval rights and THEY BROKE IT - PERIOD. If they didn't want him messing with the script, then they shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place. The man can scream, rant, cuss and rave all he wants and it still doesn't change what they agreed to in the contract. Anschutz's lawyers are merely creating a side show with accusations of racial slurs, to get the attention off the true merits of the case and to make Cussler look bad.

I agree

You wouldn't be surprised if you knew that in the past she has altered the truth to suit her own interests. (and I speak from personal experience -- with proof) At least the article mentioned her demise which many folks will read as sour grapes.

Rob Greer

No, I'm not surprised at all. When I say "floored" I mean in anger. I've had my own personal experience with her and have heard many things that leave a person shaking their head, so that is why I am not surprised.

I AGREE WITH MOGOPILOT IT WAS A DARN GOOD MOVIE AND A WASTE THAT MORE WILL NOT BE MADE. A QUESTION? HAVE ANY OF YOU TRIED TO TALK WITH SOMEONE 75 OR OLDER AND FOUND THAT THEY MAYBE A LITTLE STUBBORN ABOUT THINGS???? I SAY TO CLIVE.....I LOVE YOU....BUT GET OVER IT.....TO TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT THAT NO MORE MOVIES WILL BE MADE IS JUST TO FAR.

IF YOU ARE THAT UPSET GIVE BACK THE 10 MILLION. THE MONEY FUTURE MOVIES WOULD MAKE, WILL ADD MORE MONEY TO NUMA AND INSURE IT GOES ON FOR MANY YEARS AFTER YOUR DEATH, GOD FORBID. THERE IS A WHOLE NEW YOUNGER GROUP OF ADULTS WHO ARE NOW INTO YOU BIG TIME BECAUSE OF THE MOVIE SAHARA. I BOUGHT THE DVD, AND WATCH IT OFTEN. IN FACT I THINK I WILL WATCH IT AGAIN TONIGHT TO SEE THE SCENE WHERE DIRK GETS OUT OF THE WATER TO SAVE THE WOMEN IN DISTRESS.....WHAT A SCENE, THOSE FLASHES OF HIS CHEST...OH LA LA. :P

Ranger I understand your feelings about changing things and being upset over it. But my question is this - if it got people like myself reading this character don't you think that gives the movie some redeeming quality?

Like I said I haven't read Sahara yet - I just started Dragon last night - and I may totally change my opinion of the movie when I do read it but I honestly think its a GREAT movie.

I'm not trying to start trouble with this either and hope you don't take it that way. I just want to see what your opinions are about people like us who became fans because of the movie.

I agree that it makes no sense to change his background from Air Force to Navy. When I started reading Pacific Vortex and it said he was in the Air Force I couldn't figure it out. I even put the movie in the DVD player to make sure I wasn't crazy. My only guess is that the movie people thought the people who watched the movie were just complete morons who would never make the connection that he went from the Air Force to NUMA. But then by making that assumption the vieweres were that dumb you lost out on developing the character. Pitt grew up around the ocean and got his love for it there - perfect transition from Air Force to NUMA.

But you see this mistake QUITE a bit in Hollywood. They must be the smartest people in the world or think their vieweres the dumbest people in the world. That must suck for them to be that wrong on both counts.

:) I liked the movie. Anyone knows that any adaptation from book to movie if done exactly scene for scene would be five hours long. Some things have to be cut, altered and rearraged to keep a movie congruous and making sense.

Why? Is purity more important than art? Take the money, enjoy the limelight and let them get on with it. We need more good Pitt movies.

Question:..
Was "Gone With the Wind" the same as the book?

I agree there can be alterations but Peter Jackson proved that you don't have to slice and dice great books for the sake of a 2 hour time slot and Gone With the Wind didn't tie itself to the 2 hour mark either. Peter Jackson basically told the production company, who remember, they wanted him to fit all 3 books into one movie, where they could stick that idea.

I really got ticked off from the comment in the Article that dead writers are easier to work with than live ones because unfirtunately that's true, you can rip their books to shreads and no one can say a thing. I'll repeat myself again, I hope Clive wins this, if they broke contract with him then he should win this. I know people want more movies but everyone has a favorite Cussler book and you wouldn't want to see that book mauled on the big screen, unless your favorite is RTT, then you've already seen it mauled.

Without offending anyone - let me tell a little story:

God spent an eternity putting together a plan - he poured His whole heart and soul into it laying out moment by moment, making sure each detail was just right. He made sure the characters were diverse and meaningful, and over many years he used people and events to set this plan in motion - in his heart he felt his life long work was good.

But along came a production company who told God that they had the ability to reach a wider audience - to help Him gain more followers. God liked the idea and listened. But there was just one little catch:

1) The character of Jesus couldn't be Jewish because surveys indicated there were more pagans who worshiped the Gods at the time
2) Jesus shouldn't be a carpenter because, frankly it made more sense that he be a priest - we'll just gloss over it during the credits, no one will notice
3) And because the film would be 2 hours long - several scenes would be cut to make the story smoother - so the whole healing of the blind and lame thing would have to be cut.

All this should be OK because, afterall it's just a film. It's entertainment. It's not like God had invested an eternity on the plan or the characters or anything.

--------

Before you hammer me for comparing Clive to God - just imagine investing 35 years into something and then have someone mess with it for "artistic & monetary purposes". I for one - no matter how much money they paid me - would not be happy.

There's nothing I'd like more than to see more Pitt films on the screen - but not at the cost of compromising the lifetime work of Clive.

Go ahead - hammer away.

Very well put, no hammering from me on this one!

I wrote to the reporter, here's his reply. Take note of his email address and let him know what you think:

Subj: RE: your article on Cussler
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:58:19 -0800
From: Glenn.Bunting@latimes.com

Thanks for your feedback. So far, out of more than 50 email responses
to the Sahara article, yours is one of only two that were unfavorable.
The other--which said simply "Nice hit job. John Gotti would be proud of
you."--is not worthy of a response.

Since you inquired about "how much actual investigation" was undertaken
for this story, I am happy to reply. I spent about three months
reporting the story. I read close to 100,000 pages of sworn depositions, legal
records, court filings, financial documents and internal memos and
emails. I interviewed at length on several occasions the attorneys
representing both sides as well as Mr. Cussler, the producers, directors and
writers. In addition, Maloy Moore spent more than a month researching the
article and fact-checking.

As one who is familiar with the Sahara journey from print to film, I
respect your viewpoint. However, please allow me to make a few points:

--This article was carefully researched, vetted and edited. There are
no inaccuracies of any kind that we are aware of. This is the difference
in today's media world between responsible journalists who diligently
report the facts and many bloggers and pundits who fire at will without
bothering to engage in research.

--Maloy and I thoroughly researched the history of "Raise the Titanic"
and discussed it with Mr. Cussler. Its importance in shaping Mr.
Cussler's experience with Hollywood is the reason "Raise the Titanic" is
mentioned three different times in the story.

--All of the allegations in the article were taken from court records
and sworn deposition testimony.

--The allegations involving the alleged bigotry by Mr. Cussler also
were taken from testimony given under oath. You should know that we only
used two examples among several that are contained in court records.
Since one of the accusers is a former employee, we felt it was important
to include her in the article and make clear her possible motivation. We
made sure to get reaction from Mr. Cussler and his attorney to these
allegations. Their strong responses are part of the story.

We made every effort to publish a fair, accurate and balanced article.
I regret that you feel we let you down.

Sincerely,

Glenn F. Bunting
Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times



-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 8:36 AM
To: glenn.bunting@latimes.com
Subject: re: your article on Cussler


As someone who not only knows the author, but is
intimately familiar with the journey of bringing a
Dirk Pitt novel to the big screen, I am simply amazed
at the level of inaccuracies regarding the character
and behavior of Mr. Cussler and cannot help but wonder
how much actual investigation you and Maloy Moore
performed in the course of researching your article.

If you had gone back to the beginning, the failure
that was Raise the Titantic and learn more about
Cussler's initial experience with Hollywood, you may
have understood more about how cagey Cussler is and
why it took him so long to consider another shot at
making a Pitt movie.

Clive is a typical author, sure. Very protective of
his bread and butter and once bitten, twice shy about
working with Hollywood. This history would easily
explain why it took him over a quarter of a century to
trust another production company with his franchise
and why he would be understandibly want to have
certain approvals to make sure any film stayed inside
the universe set by the novels.

I know, my partner and I spent 7 years working with
him to develop a Pitt movie franchise. And even
though he chose to go in another direction with
Crusader Entertainment, when we worked with him, we
found him to be cooperative, eager to participate, and
by no means demanding. When he had notes, he
professionally gave them and was never demeaning, just
spot on direct in his comments which were usually
constructive.

And he never, EVER used racial epithets. In fact, at
one point, he considered working with Morgan Freeman
as Admiral Sandecker, another central character in the
Pitt franchise. So, I was shocked when I read that
part of your hit piece about Cussler using racial
slurs. It simply isn't in the man to do that. And to
use the testimony of a PR person who was fired,
probably because she spent more time defending the
Sahara film than representing her client can hardly be
considered a credible source to back up the assertions
you make.

*************************

[B][/B]Glenn.Bunting@latimes.com

I am disappointed that Clive allegedly exhibited antisemetic and racist tendencies that offend me.

I was also disappointed by the film adaptation of Sahara. The producers took too many liberites in casting (Dirk & Al miscast; however WH Macy was a great Sandecker, Penelope Cruz was very good) and in writing a screenplay that only reflected portions of the story but seemed to lack the spirit of the characters and the Dirk Pitt series. Although I don't forgive or condone his alleged remarks, it is understandable why he might have been frustrated with the movie adaptation of Sahara. I was. I don't believe that we will ever see Dirk Pitt become the franchise, such as Indiana Jones or James Bond, that it fully desrves to be.

As to what Ace Roberts comment about God and Clive's work ,hear hear well said I would say! While I would like to see Pitt, Al and the rest on the big screen, it should not be at the cost of what Clive has dedicated his life to in all these years.

See, that's exactly what I was afriad of.

Not to single you out, roscojen, but your post just confirms in a small way what I was afraid of. That people are going to be offened by the charges of racial slurs, regardless of weather Clive actually said them or not. I fear that in the long run this could possibly hurt Clives reputation.

Now, let me just say that I think it's all lies on the part of Anschutz. I don't think those charges hold any water, but that's just me. He's just knows that he's in for a hell of a fight and will sink to whatever level he can to get an advantage.

You know, I was just thinking. Clive really should consider starting an independant film company or somthing; you know, this way he can make the movies himself, how he wants them, and we won't have all this Leagl BS and allagations clouding everything up.

As soon as I saw a short for the movie and got a look at "Giordino" (I use the name loosely - they are both men but that's where the resemblence stops) I knew the movie would be disappointing. Anyone who hadn't read the books would probably think it was ok (my two sons enjoyed it).

I suppose the producers wanted to make a movie which would make them money. However many Cussler fans there are out there - there are more who havent read the books (poor people;) ). Even if the Cussler fans hated the movie if enough non Cussler fans went to see it then the producers would be happy. The movie was only terribly disappointing if you knew how many errors/omissions/changes it had in it. The producers probably thought that if enough new readers turned to the books after seeing the movie that Clive would be satisfied.
I am actually going to see "Eragon" tomorrow with my sons and it will interesting to see what they make of it. One son has read and really enjoyed both Eragon books and the other hasn't read either. They'll both see the movie - will one of them enjoy it more?

It is possible to make a movie based on a book and remain true to the novel and make a great movie. The first Harry Potter movie followed the book extremely closely. They couldnt have got it more right (the others not so well). Perhaps Clive needed to have the tight reins on the production that JK Rowling seems to have on EVERYTHING HP related.

That is exactly the reason Anschutz/Crusader is alleging racial slurs, to accomplish exactly what roscojen just said in his post (no offense intended roscojen and I know you said "alleged"). He wants to create a smoke screen to get people focused on things other than what the lawsuit is about like using highly sensitive subjects such as accusations of racial slurs that are sure to tick people off, and in a round about way ruin Cussler's good name in the process.

Matt Garrett stated that he worked with Clive for 7 years trying to develop a franchise, and I would think that if Clive was a frequent user of racial slurs, as Crusader is alleging, then slurs would surely show themselves in 7 years time he was working with Matt, don't you think? A frequent abuser of slurs normally does it without thinking.

Here's another thing to think about. The reporter said in his article that sworn testimony was taken "under oath," with regard to racial slurs that Clive allegedly made. That doesn't necessarily mean its true. People DO LIE under oath, especially when it can't be proven one way or the other. A lot of times, those lies are revealed once trial begins and they can be cross-examined. That is why it is important to refrain from getting angry about something allegedly said, or forming negative opinions about someone, because they are innocent until proven guilty.

ACE - your post was very well said!

Matt,

While I agree with your intentions to defend Clive, I have to say that the posted article was probably one of the best pieces of journalism I've read in a long time. It was very fair, presenting many different sides of the argument, with quotes and e-mails. I thought the overall sentiment was that Clive was getting the crap-end of the deal and that the producers were acting irresponsibly by bringing in writer after writer to change his script. Bringing up the alleged racial slurs is merely reporting the defense' side of the argument. If anything, we should be mad at Anschutz for using it as his defense, rather than the reporter for reporting on it.

I just wish the reporter would switch to covering college football so we can get some intelligent, well-researched and well-written articles there.

P.S. For anyone who thinks that Cussler couldn't possibly have used a racial slur or two, why is it so hard to believe? MOST of the people from his generation (read: pre-civil rights) have some racist beliefs because that is the frame of mind they were raised in. Someone mentioned 75+ yr old people being stubborn, it's the same thing. Just because they have the beliefs doesn't mean they act on them, particularly when in a comfortable business setting (which Matt indicated he had with Clive for 7 years). Piss him off by jerking him around for 3 years and breaking contracts, and he might react with some natural unabashed anger.

I'm NOT saying Clive definitely feels that way, or that he definitely used offensive language. I'm just saying it wouldn't surprise me if he did given his place in history and his emotional level of frustration at the time. If he did should it be used against him in a breach of contract case? Heck no. Do I condone or agree with such behavior/language if it did happen? No, but I am also from the post-civil rights era and would be offended if he made them even though they're not about me.

I'm rambling, but hopefully you get the idea. Clive is not infallible, much as we wish he were. Let me know if I'm sounding too mean or racist myself, that's not my intention.

Great back to back posts oswalder. I agree the article was very balanced in it's writing and really didn't support either side you could tell from the evidence that Clive is getting the shaft here.

I think you are correct about his time in place and more likely to say things he is accused of. It wouldn't surprise me either.

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Anschutz a Jewish / German name? I am probably VERY wrong on that but I would think it is. Anyway - Clive is a smart man he isn't going to get into negotiations and use language like that if he wanted something from him.

I agree that this journanlist could do wonders with the BCS situation.