Arts, Briefly - Ruling Against Novelist in "Sahara" Movie Case - NYTimes.com Adding another chapter to the legal history of "Sahara," the 2005 action movie adapted from Clive Cussler's novel, below, a judge has ruled that Mr. Cussler must pay $13.9 million in legal fees to the production company that made the film, The Associated Press reported. In 2004 Mr. Cussler sued Crusader Entertainment, the company owned by the billionaire entrepreneur Philip F. Anschutz, saying that he was not permitted final approval on the script as his contract mandated, which resulted in the box office failure of the film. Crusader countersued, saying that it had overpaid for the rights to Mr. Cussler's work because he had overstated the sales of his novels. In 2007 a jury delivered a split decision. On Monday Judge John P. Shook of Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that Mr. Cussler had violated a contract that mandated the payment of legal fees if either side breached the agreement.