Apparently the latest People magazine in the USA has a picture of Penelope Cruz (who plays Eva Rojas) riding a camel.

If anyone can post pictures of that to this site it would be great.

Here are two pics of the ironclad "Texas" on the Sahara movie set at Hawley Lake in England.

Finding pics from the set is a rare event. The only ones I know about are the ironclad and camel pics. Hopefully more will materialize soon.

If anybody stumbles across any, please post them or email them to me and I'll promptly upload them for all to share. B)

I was born in the south, but I've never been on an ironclad! I did tour a sub once and I've been to the Arizona Memorial, and even a paddle boat, but never an ironclad. I am so deprived. ;)

One of the biggest problems with films like this is, without making them long they can't do justice to the book but after 3hrs people will lose interest, hense the requirement to do three films for lord of the rings for instance. (Pics look hopefull though)

With so much money invested, There will be some kind of settlement. Cussler will probably reaquire the rights to the novels that Crusader bought and the film will make it to the screen. A problem that might arise will concern a possible sequel if the film does well because studios might be reluctant to invest in a problem franchise and Cussler himself may not want to go through the wringer again and say to hell with a movie. I really wouldn't blame him, About half the fans are PO'd that Hugh Jackman wasn't cast as Pitt, And the other half is miffed that the Lincoln subplot was cut due to time restrictions so hardly anybody is pleased. I'm just gonna wait wait till it comes out and see how it is before I state an opinion of the film. For those who already have their minds made up that it stinks, Maybe reading Sahara while listening to the sountrack of X-Men might make you feel better.

Actually, I find myself watching Hugh Jackman movies, for example, Kate and Leopold, and all I see is Dirk Pitt. Like how he surprised Kate with that candle-lit rooftop dinner. That movie scene is how I'd expect Dirk to treat Loren. ;)

Itsahak and anyone else,

If you would like to experience being on an Ironclad you can come to the "Mudd Island River Museum" here in Memphis, TN and go on a replica of one. I have been there a couple times since I moved here to Memphis and it is the coolest thing to see. It is chuck full of civil war items and I don't think it gets enough advertisement for what's in it. When I went on the ironclad they have the lights on one minute so you can see everthing and then they turn the lights out to what it would have been like then, and they depict an imaginary battle. You can hear the cannons going off and all the clatter that goes with it. I just stood there and imagined the ironclad scene in Sahara. I am attaching a link so you can see what I'm talking about. There is only one picture, but it will give you an idea. Once on the link, scroll down to where you see the three pictures. The middle picture is the ironclad. If I can find more pic's of it I will post them.

http://www.mudisland.com/civilwar.asp

I've been driving over Mud Island 2 times a day for the past 7 years and for some reason I've never made it there(Beale St. always got in the way), Maybe this year I'll get there. I have been to the mini museum At Pickwick lock and dam near Counce TN. They have many models and pictures of side and sternwheel paddleboats and towboats and you can see a tow locking up or down river most of the time as it's a pretty busy lock and you are close enough to talk to the Captain or Deckhand if they have minute. I've visted many locks during my years in the inland marine industry and have found that most lockmasters will be glad to explain the workings of the lock but since 9/11 I don't know if they will let you in the control room anymore. It 's only a couple of hours from Memphis and Shiloh National Military Park on the grounds of the Battle of Shiloh is close by if you are into Civil War stuff. If I remember correctly, The Sultana site is near Mound City Arkansas and even though it's buried in a bean field, I'm going to try and go there if I can get permission.

River Pilot,

Thanks for all that great info. I've lived here in Memphis for 6 years now and never knew about the Pickwick Lock and Dam or the mini museum there. It sounds really interesting. I know my little boy would get the biggest kick out of being able to see a towboat up close. When we drive over the Mississippi River into Arkansas my son always watches for the towboats.

I love learning about the civil war, so I will have to go check out the places you mentioned.

The pics look great but boy do I hope they don't destroy a good story I always get scared when they turn a good book into a movie anyway I must say I do look forward to seeing it.

Wasn't there talk of ruining the movie (my opinion) by removing the subplot of the kidnapping of Lincoln? I thought i heard that somewhere...but those pic's seem to confirm that the subplot exists....any thoughts on this conundrum?

Nic0demus,

Yes, apparently they are including the ironclad in the movie, but it won't have Abe Lincoln on board. I hear they are using the ironclad purely to transport the confederate gold across the Atlantic.

Cheers

How would removing the Lincoln subplot ruin the movie?

While it is a nice twist in the novel, It's absence in the film will not effect the main plot of NUMA's quest to find the source of pollution killing the planet.

I'll say it again. Time and budget are the reason certain subplots are being omitted from the film. While you may think it's only a few minutes of screen time, Think about how long it took you to read the book and how much if it has to be squeezed into a 2 hour film and that few minutes of story may take thousands from the budget that needs to go elsewhere.

If Clive wrote the book without the Lincoln subplot would you think it stunk? I don't think so.

Almost every Cussler fan has been lobbying for a movie for years and quite frankly I am amazed at the number of dissapointed people that thought it would be a word for word translation to film. It would be great and I'd love to see something like that but it would never see a movie theater because theater owners like to see new money every 2 hours.

In retrospect, Maybe Dr. Cussler made a bad decision in trying to please his fans by going ahead with a film because with the way the film industry works, There was no way to please himself or his fans.

Hi All,

I'm looking forward to seeing the film, if it ever gets out in Belgium that is. I enjoyed reading your comments.
So far I haven't missed a book but they're not all translated yet.

Karo :D

Welcome Karo !!

When I visited Germany back in 1989, a person that was from your fine country and I had the best of times. Do the Cussler books found in Belgium have similar artwork to other European editions ? I find the different art exciting to look at and even collect the odd foreign (to me) language Cussler title.

Cheers

Hi,

I allways check the original titles and most of the times it's an exact translation.
My favourite so far is Inca Gold, but we are a couple of translations behind.

Karo

Here are two new pics....Not bad...Not bad...

.....and the next.

See, now I like the look in these last two pics!

I can see Steve as Al...but its gonna take me a while to get used to seeing Matthew M as Dirk. Maybe it'll grow on me.

You see for me it is the other way round, I can see Matthew as Dirk but it's going to take me a while to see Steve as Al :unsure: Maybe once I see a front view instead of a side one I'll change my mind :mellow:

I just cant wait to see the Movie, not much point pre judging it - does anyone know when it will be released in Australia?

Welcome Plumeria !!

I've been noticing that the new release movies come out in Australia at the same time or very close to it as the US. I'd expect the movie to be on the big screen here in the last quarter of this year.

Cheers

We will just have to wait to see how true they stayed to the charactors before we judge how well that they fit the charactors .

i still want St Julian to be played by Dom Delouise. :D

:blink: I never knew Dirk Pitt had a mullet, eh? I always though he was a California boy, eh? Turns out he's really a Canadian, eh?

OK i can see matt as Pitt, But I don't see Al w/a beard,.

I read on "movietickets.com" that the release date for the Sahara movie is to be October 1, 2004. Wonder how true that is.

Here's the link: http://www.movietickets.com/movie_detail.asp?movie_id=41986

I don't remember any scene from Sahara novel that Dirk, Al and Eva Rojas were together in a jeep. Could anybody tell me from what particular scene is it?

Looks real good to me. Matthew McC looks the part!

I understand that many of you are upset with the cast choices for the movie sahara. However, there is one thing that you should keep in mind. This being that there is only one person who can see how a actor will portray a certain role. In this case it is Clive Cussler. He has agreed to all of the character pics. So therefor in my opinion if it is good for CC then it is good for me.
As for removeing the lincoln subplot please keep this in mind, the real subplot is that of the ship itself. Most of the action revolves around the ship not so much as the prisoner. Remember that they need to have the ship to bring in the "disappearing River". Be that as it may, CC is very influential in this movie. Put your faith in him to make the right choices for his book. B)

That's true, but the Lincoln part was what made the part about the Confederate ironclad interesting. Without Lincoln, the only interesting thing about the ironclad would be that it crossed the Atlantic Ocean and wound up in the Sahara. I'm not too sure this is a good analogy, but do you know of the Zavala? It was a (I'm probably wrong) sloop of war used by the Republic of Texas navy? NUMA discovered it in a parking lot. What was interesting about it? Other than the fact that it was in a parking lot, NOTHING!


Didn't somebody say something about there being confederate gold on the ironclad, or something?

We dont all have mullets !!!! :angry:


Ok some of us have mullets!! ;)


It keeps the neck warm in the winter!! :P

I have a mullet. Chicks dig it.

Okay I just got Home from Vaca, and Love the Ironclad shot, but am disturbed about the Lincoln Subplot being Taken Out of the Movie...Thats a Great Twist for Nautica History Lovers Such as Myself

Yes, Ian-
My sentiments exactly. Neither look as I'd pictured my 2 favorite heroes, in all these years... :(
However, I am quite sure I will love the movie.
Anticipation.....!

I feel kind of strange. I don't want to know too much, I'd rather just see the movie in one sitting them see little bits here and there.

concerning the movie pics: Where's the DOXA? :)

The pictures we have, so far, do not show whether he's wearing a watch or not... :P

Holy cows Batman dont even try to tell me they forgot the watch!!!!!!! :ph43r: