Sahara Action Figures
Sahara is a 2005 action/adventure film directed by Breck Eisner and based on the best-selling book of the same name by Clive Cussler. Though it opened at number-one, grossing $18 million on its first weekend, Sahara is considered one of the biggest financial failures in Hollywood history. From the financial perspective, Sahara was unusual because it performed reasonably well, generating $122 million in gross box-office sales. However, the movie was beset by high costs, including a $160-million production and $81.1 million in distribution expenses. The film lost approximately $105 million according to a financial executive assigned to the movie; however Hollywood accounting methods assign losses at $78.3 million, taking into account projected revenue. According to Hollywood accounting, the film drew in revenue of $202.9 million against expenses of $281.2 million. The Los Angeles Times presented an extensive special report on April 15, 2007 dissecting the budget of Sahara as an example of how Hollywood movies can cost so much to produce and fail; many of the often closely held documents had become public domain due to a lawsuit involving the film. To promote the film, actor Matthew McConaughey drove his own personal Airstream trailer (painted with a large Sahara movie poster on each side) across America, stopping at military bases and many events, such as the Daytona 500 (to Grand Marshal the race), premiering the movie to fans, signing autographs, and doing interviews at each stop. The trip's highlights were shown on an E! channel special to coincide with the film's release. McConaughey also kept a running blog of his trip on MTV's entertainment website. Both MTV and the film's distributor, Paramount Pictures, are owned by Viacom. According to McConaughey, this film was intended to be the first in a franchise of films based on Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels (much like the James Bond film franchise), but the poor box office performance of the film has stalled any plans for a sequel or a franchise. In February 2005, Cussler took legal action against Philip Anschutz, the producer, for failing to consult him on the script. Cussler sued the film's makers for breach of contract and producer Anschutz counter-sued Cussler for "alleged blackmail and sabotage attempts against the film prior to its 2005 release." Cussler claims that his initial brief of "absolute control" over the book's adaptation to the big screen was compromised and this contributed to it becoming a box office failure. In a statement to a Los Angeles court, Cussler says, "They deceived me right from the beginning. They kept lying to me... and I just got fed up with it." Anschutz countered that Cussler's behavior played a big role in the film's financial woes. His lawyer said "It is the height of arrogance for Cussler to take $10 million to make a movie and then torpedo the franchise." Anschutz prevailed. On May 15, 2007 the jury awarded him $5 million, leaving it to the judge to separately determine whether or not Anschutz should have to pay $8.5 million to Cussler for rights to a second book. In a decision on January 8, 2008, Judge John Shook denied Cussler's claim for the $8.5 million.
| Grade Weight | Grade Description |
|---|---|
| Grade# 1WP | MINT figure, new in MINT, undamaged, unopened condition |
| Grade# 2WP | MINT figure, new in slightly damaged unopened package, may have a SMALL dent in the bubble, or MINOR crease in the card |
| Grade# 3WP | MINT figure, new in damaged unopened package, may have a dent in the bubble, or a crease or folded corners in the card |
| Grade# 4NP | Mint figure, used no package |
| Grade# 5NP | Excellent figure, used no package |
| Grade# 6NP | Good figure, used no package |
| Grade# 7NP | Fair figure, used no package |
| Grade# 8NP | Poor figure, used no package |
NOTE: Many more items and pictures are coming soon. All items that have an "Add to Cart" button are available for order.
| Item | Description | grade# | Item# | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Very RARE Sahara, Al Giordino 3 3/4 Action Figure MOC Glossy card, minor shelf wear, minor corner fold NIce Clear Bubble, minor dent in bottom C8.0- | 2WP | Item# SAHA-ALGIORDINO | US$ 16.99 | |
|
Very RARE Sahara, Dirk Pitt 3 3/4 Action Figure MOC Glossy card Corner fold bottom of card NIce Clear Bubble, minor dent in bottom C8.0- | 2WP | Item# SAHA-DIRKPITT | US$ 16.99 | SOLD |
|
Very RARE Sahara, Dirk Pitt, Al Giordino 12" Action Figures with Jeep MIB Generally a nice box, minor window denting Minor denting in a few corners of box (THIS IS A BIG BOX!) One small tear on front and side of box C8.0 | 2WP | Item# SAHA-JEEP | US$ 99.99 | SOLD |
