Is anyone following the legal battle over the movie Sahara? The film tanked badly at the box office and producers are blaming author Clive Cussler who made the making of the film something of a chore. Cussler initiated the lawsuit to recover cash he feels he was denied after the film was released. The lawsuit is going to be one of the nastier battles the industry has seen since the last Liz Taylor divorce.
This story in the L.A Times reads like an SNL skit.
Check this passage from Producer Phil Anshutz’s lawyer..
Anschutz’s attorneys conceded that they would fully explore Cussler’s conduct - particularly accusations that he made racist and anti-Semitic slurs - to demonstrate that the 75-year-old author acted unreasonably during development of the movie "Sahara." But they said they had no plans to exploit additional evidence that could prove damaging to Cussler’s reputation.
The attorneys said they never intended, for example, to disclose to the jury that Cussler believed the moon landing was a government hoax or that he was intolerant of his fans, calling one loyal reader "a loathsome toad."
"The idea that we are trying to get away with something is nonsense," Alan Rader, Anschutz’s attorney from O’Melveny & Myers, said. "Cussler breached a contract by acting in bad faith. That is our focus."
The legal drama behind Sahara could engulf stars Matthew McConaughey and Oscar nominee Penelope Cruz and is developing into a far more interesting and exciting story than the god awful movie that caused it.
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