'Sahara' a learning curve for Anschutz, agent says

Anschutz's biggest production to date was the adaptation of the first of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" cost around $180 million, but took in over $744 million worldwide.

By Glenn F. Bunting
Times Staff Writer

2:54 PM PST, February 5, 2007

A New York literary agent testified this morning that Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz arranged a set of private, tag-team negotiations that led to the multibillionaire awarding author Clive Cussler extraordinary approval rights over the movie "Sahara."

Peter Lampack, Cussler's book agent for 38 years, is the first witness to take the stand in a legal battle between Anschutz and Cussler over who is to blame for "Sahara" becoming a financial flop.

Lampack told the jury the meeting in June 2000 at a private boardroom inside Anschutz's Denver office tower was set up by the industrialist's partner, Howard Baldwin.

"Howard said that Phil wanted to meet us," Lampack recalled. "[Anschutz] was just putting his toes into the entertainment field. This was sort of a learning curve for him."

Anschutz, 67, had earned a fortune in oil and gas, railroads, telecommunications and real estate. He has since become a force in Hollywood by controlling Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's largest chain of movie theaters, and Anschutz Entertainment Group, a production company whose biggest hit, "The Chronicles of Narnia," has earned more than $1 billion in revenue.

The Denver meeting began with pleasantries and light conversation, the agent testified. Anschutz, who chaired the session, then tried to low-ball Cussler, according to Lampack, by making an offer beneath the $30 million the best-selling author was seeking for the film rights to his popular Dirk Pitt adventure series.

When Lampack refused, Anschutz and Baldwin escorted Cussler to a nearby office building to show off the billionaire's extensive Western art collection.

"It became apparent to me that Philip Anschutz and Howard Baldwin taking Cussler out of the room was simply a ploy," Lampack testified before being cut off by attorney Bertram Fields, who represents Cussler.

Lampack said he was left alone with about a half-dozen Anschutz attorneys and business executives to hammer out an agreement.

"The conversations quickly broke down," Lampack recalled. An entertainment lawyer for Anschutz, William Immerman, had "tried to dilute the absolute, unconditional approvals" demanded by Cussler, Lampack said.

"We were not going to enter into any deal without those absolute approvals," Lampack testified. "As far as I was concerned, that negotiation was finished. I explained, probably for the one thousandth time, why I couldn't agree to that."

Cussler had vowed never again to allow Hollywood to make a movie out of one of his Pitt books after his "Raise the Titanic" became a box-office disaster in 1980, Lampack told the jury.

With Anschutz and Baldwin pursuing the Pitt franchise, which consists of 19 books, Cussler had insisted on retaining complete control over any future screenplays. Such approvals are rarely granted to authors who know little about the collaborative process involved in making movies.

Anschutz and Baldwin returned with Cussler to the boardroom after touring the art museum for about 90 minutes, Lampack said. Baldwin then inquired about how talks were progressing.

"I said, 'This negotiation is over,' " Lampack recalled. "[Baldwin] literally turned white. I thought he was going to fall over."

Anschutz stepped in and urged all sides to keep talking, Lampack said. After hours of negotiations, Anschutz and Cussler struck a compromise: Anschutz's entertainment company would pay $10 million per book for the rights to two Cussler novels. The author would get "sole and absolute discretion" over the first picture and consulting approval rights over subsequent films.

The meeting ended with Anschutz and Cussler shaking hands.

"Mr. Anschutz made a reference to the fact that he intended this series to be as successful, if not more so, than the James Bond series," Lampack testified.

"Sahara," starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, was released in spring 2005. To date, Anschutz's company has lost about $105 million on the project.