Who defeated Dirk Pitt?

Hollywood, says author Cussler in lawsuit

Clive Cussler has a lawsuit against the production company that made the action film Sahara. He claimsthe company reneged on a deal to give him creative control of the movie based on his book,At the start of a trial expected to provide an inside look at behind-the-scenes Hollywoods, Cussler's lawyer Bert Fields told jurors an agreement between Cussler and a company owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz was breached when vital story lines were eliminated.

"It was supposed to be Mr. Cussler who decided what would be cut out," Fields said. "They tore the heart out of the story ... lost all of this money because they gutted it."

The 2005 film, starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, was envisioned as the springboard to make Cussler's character Dirk Pitt a lucrative franchise, like Indiana Jones or James Bond. But the movie flopped, costing $160 million (all figures U.S.) and taking in $68 million.

Lawyers for Anschutz's company have portrayed Cussler as unco-operative and meddlesome in the filmmaking process and claimed he misled the moviemakers about the popularity of his books. They charge he only sold one-third of the 100 million books he claims.