Interview with 'Sahara' author Clive CusslerFor author Clive Cussler, having his book made into a movie is nothing new. Having his book made into a good movie may be something different altogether.
Cussler, who is known for his “Dirk Pitt” adventures, will soon get to watch his character on the silver screen along with throngs of fans in the upcoming movie, “Sahara.”
“I haven’t seen it yet,” Cussler admitted. “It’s still in the editing stage.”
The movie will star Matthew McConaughey as Pitt while Penelope Cruz will play the female lead.
With this venture marking his second run at getting a novel turned into a movie, Cussler made sure he had much more control over what was being done.
“I had script and casting approval,” he said. “Other than that, I had nothing to do with the movie.”
Yet just those two rights proved to be much more than his first Hollywood experience.
In 1976, Cussler’s novel, “Raise the Titanic” was released as a movie starring Robert Jordan as the green-eyed hero. Unfortunately, the movie not only flopped, it resembled very little of what Cussler wrote in the published work.
“I used to ask the screenwriter whose book it was he was adapting from,” Cussler joked. “It wasn’t mine.” Cussler admitted that no movie adaptation can do a book justice.
“It would take a 10-hour movie to really tell a book in its entirety,” he said. “It has to be cut quite a bit just to get the story moving along and finished in an acceptable time. ‘Jaws’ was one of the few movies that was better than the book because they cut out a lot of the deadwood. With ‘Sahara,’ we’ll just have to wait and see.”
But Cussler still has high hopes. He has seen many novels and characters turned into successful movies. Perhaps his could be next.
“You always hope that they make a smash movie out of your work,” he said. “Ian Fleming was lucky with James Bond and Tom Clancy with Jack Ryan. Not all authors are that lucky, though.”
But Cussler has been lucky — and talented — in the world of the printed word. With the release of his newest “Pitt” novel, due out in December, Cussler will have the better part of 20 “Pitt” adventures on the shelves.
He has sold over 70 million copies worldwide; his books have been translated into 40 languages and are sold in 100 countries.
Through it all, he doesn’t consider himself a writer.
The best-selling novelist, who started his career working in advertising, leans towards a different title.
“I look at myself not so much as a writer, but as an entertainer,” he said. “It’s my job to entertain readers in such a way that he or she feels they got their money’s worth when they’ve finished the book.”
Entertainer. Writer. What other adjective could describe Cussler? How about “adventurer”?
Though Cussler is the first to admit that he didn’t develop “Pitt” based on himself, he still finds himself on many adventures that are reminiscent to the life his hero leads. In fact, both work for NUMA, which is the National Underwater & Marine Agency, a nonprofit organization in the real world that Cussler founded and a government agency in the world of “Pitt.”
While his character saved the lives of numerous people and has saved the world on more than one occasion, Cussler has done some pretty remarkable things himself. He and his crew not only found LaSalle’s ship L’Aimable, near Galveston, Texas, but they’ve also found a few other notable historical ships.
“We found the Confederate submarine, Hunley,” Cussler said of the long-lost ship. “I tried in 1980 and ’81, as well as ’92 and ’94. When I went home in ’94, I told the crew to keep going. I’d fax them a grid and they’d say it’s not there. The next time it would be the same thing.”
Then one morning, he recalled, they forgot about the time difference and woke him up at 5 a.m.
“The fellow working with me told me they weren’t going to look for the Hunley anymore,” Cussler said. “I asked if they were quitting and he said they weren’t looking anymore because they found it. After that, I just sat there in a state of shock.”
NUMA has also recovered the General Slocum and the ghost ship Mary Celeste. Cussler is planning a trip to look for another elusive find in the Bonhomme Richard.
“This will be my fifth try,” he said. “It didn’t go down right after the battle. Instead, it stayed up for another 36 hours. That’s a search grid of 400 square miles.”
Beyond adventure, Cussler and “Pitt” share other attributes. When the novels first began, both were the same height and weight and both share an interest in collectible cars. In fact, they have the same collection with a few additions in Pitt’s, including some planes and even a bathtub with a motor attached to it.
Cussler’s car collection has approximately 87 classic vehicles ranging from pre-World War models to 1950s convertibles.
Another common factor the character and his creator share is the fact that both have appeared in Cussler’s novels.
“That started back in [the novel] ‘Dragon,’” Cussler said. “I was typing away on a scene at a classic car show and ‘Pitt’ went over and introduced himself to an old guy with gray hair. The old guy introduced himself as Clive Cussler. I sat back and wondered ‘Why did I do that?’ As a joke, I left it in and thought that would be the end of it. I received 600 letters on it and I’ve put myself into the books since. The readers expect it, kind of like a Hitchcock movie.”
And the appearances will no doubt continue going strong. The next release of a “Pitt” adventure will be in December and not only features Cussler’s appearance in the last sentence, but also features a new name on the cover — Dirk Cussler.
As with any popular series and author, rumors have persisted that Cussler would end the series on a dramatic note, perhaps even ending the life of his beloved hero. Another rumor states his son, Dirk, would be given free rein.
The latter, it would appear, is correct. The father and son duo will have a share of the newest “Pitt” novel.
“I think he does a very good job,” Cussler said of his son’s writing ability. “My agent was dumbfounded at his ability. I think he writes a tad better than I do, but I might have a better imagination. It was great working together.”
Does that mean the novels will soon just have Dirk Cussler’s name on the cover?
“That would be nice for me,” the elder Cussler laughed. “I could just get on a plane and retire somewhere in Tahiti.”
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