Eruption: James Patterson completes Crichton’s passion project – BBC News

Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton died of cancer over 15 years ago – now his unfinished “passion project”, about a volcanic eruption that threatens humanity, has been completed by fellow literary giant James Patterson and is already generating huge interest in Hollywood.

Eruption takes readers on a thrilling journey across Hawaii’s largest island, which, unbeknownst to its residents, hides dangerous military secrets dating back decades.

There has been no formal canvas auction yet, but Sherri Crichton, who discovered her late husband’s unfinished manuscript more than a decade ago and controls his estate, told BBC News that she is now talking to Steven Spielberg about a possible film adaptation.

Crichton’s early works, such as Twister, Westworld and ER, sold for enormous sums, making him one of the most successful book, film and television writers in the world – even after his death.

“We have incredible interest,” Patterson told me in a joint interview with Sherri, “including five or more stars who raised their hands, a lot of filmmakers, studios.

“When Jurassic Park came out, Michael and Steven Spielberg found a way to elevate the genre – and it was wonderful and different – ​​and I think that’s what we hope to do with this.

“We have partners in mind whose spirit will not be to make just another disaster movie.”

Jurassic Park, Spielberg’s highest-grossing film, is now a global franchise worth more than $6 billion (£4.7 billion).

“We went back to Steven,” Sherri said.

“What was so magical about it was that they introduced things, like what Jim was saying, that had never been filmed before – and that’s what it deserves.

“We need it elevated, where you really are taken for that ride like you did with Jurassic.

“This is the same kind of thrilling and spine-chilling experience – and partnering with the right team is everything.”

Sherri knew that Patterson, the world’s greatest thriller writer, who had read all of Crichton’s novels, was the one she wanted. And after receiving the unfinished manuscript, the 77-year-old signed up to complete it.

“I knew I was in the right hands with Jim,” she said.

“Together they were like the perfect duet on the page.

“It was so exciting – and I found myself sitting, waiting, [thinking,] ‘When will I start receiving the chapters?'”

They had to go through a series of “meticulously organized” scientific surveys, some so dense that Patterson had to hire a researcher in Alaska to help.

“It had a dual storyline which is very unusual and they merged,” Patterson said.

“I found that irresistible as a storyteller.

“My joke to Sherri was, ‘Well, now that I’ve read so much, I need to figure out how the hell this ends.'”

And in less than a year, this “unprecedented literary collaboration” was completed.

“I really like this stuff,” Patterson said.

“I’m a ridiculous worker, seven days a week.”

Patterson has sold more than 400 million books worldwide.

Popular titles include Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls and the Alex Cross series, which Amazon Prime Video is adapting for television.

In the UK, Patterson is currently surpassed only by Richard Osman and Colleen Hoover.

He is also the most borrowed author in UK libraries, according to publisher Penguin Random House.

Eruption, which had original working titles The Black Zone and Vulcan, is Patterson’s first attempt at posthumous publication – but he is no stranger to high-profile collaborations, having written the autobiographies of Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton.

“I challenge any reader to decide where Michael left off and I began,” he said.

“That wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, making everything perfect.”

Sherri rarely spoke publicly about her late husband.

She was pregnant with their son, John Michael, when he died in 2008 at age 66.

As chief executive of CrichtonSun, the publishing and production arm of the Crichton estate, Sherri has worked hard to protect his legacy.

And in their home in Santa Monica, California, she kept his desk intact for more than a decade.

Along with framed awards and movie memorabilia, there are special photos of Crichton and Spielberg together.

All of his original handwritten notes, including early drafts of the Jurassic Park books and films, have also been carefully preserved.

Patterson felt pressure to do a good job with Eruption because of the emotions attached to the project from Sherri and her son, who loves the novel.

There’s enough material for a sequel – or even a trilogy – but neither Patterson nor Sherri will commit to that yet.

In the meantime, completing the Eruption made Sherri and her son feel closer to Crichton, despite the lingering pain.

“It lessens as the years go by – but it still gets very exciting,” she said.

“I found a part of Michael.

“I already loved him for his warmth and vulnerability and for his playfulness, fun and genius.

“I loved him for all the obvious reasons – and we were starting our family together.”

“Returning to his roles was a necessity to stay connected to him.

“I needed to find a way to answer some of the questions I didn’t know how to teach my son about him.

“I didn’t want to read it in a book.

“I didn’t want to just believe what people would say about the experience they had with Michael.

“I needed to know that — and I needed to be able to witness that and feel that — and what happened during that process was I actually fell more deeply in love.”

Eruption by James Patterson and Michael Crichton will be published in hardback by Century on Thursday 6 June (recommended retail price: £22).