It was the mostly forgettable book that had to do with the Northwest passage opening up. Written with someone else. And I’m sure you’re right. A commercial writer writes the books, and he polishes them up. Virtually no work for him, and the pop writer gets to cash in on Cussler’s famous name.
Fun movie. Not an epic, by any stretch, but fun. Dirk Pitt was well-cast (Matthew McConaghey). The title sequence included a montage of Cussler's shipwreck-hunting buddies, and the soundtrack was comprised of 70s album rock tunes.
Like I said, I think that he'd be a fun guy to have a beer with.