Clive Cussler writes a check while his legal adviser looks on

Supposedly mega-selling author Clive Cussler sued the Crusader Entertainment production company that turned his novel Sahara into a movie that flopped, saying they’d reneged on a deal to give him script approval. Crusader said Cussler “duped” the company into making the Matthew McConaughey/Penelope Cruz film in the first place by “inflating” his sales figures for the book. Cussler lost that case and had to pony up $5 million. Now, according to an AP wire story, a judge has decreed Cussler also has to pay Crusader’s legal fees — $13.9 million.