Q&A: Steve Alten on His Shark Novel MEG & Eli Roth’s Upcoming Film Adaptation

They were big enough to bring down a Tyrannosaurus Rex, so you can imagine what they would do to humans if they were still around. Cousins to the Great White, the Megalodon emerged from the depths nearly twenty years ago in Steve Alten's MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror. With a special expanded edition of MEG hitting shelves this week, we caught up with Alten to discuss the new version of MEG, Eli Roth's upcoming film adaptation of his beloved book, and much more.

It’s been nearly 20 years since your groundbreaking killer shark thriller MEG was published, and to celebrate the occasion, Viper Press is releasing a special expanded edition of the novel. What new content can fans expect to see in this new version of MEG?

Steve Alten: About a year ago, I decided to create a 20th anniversary limited edition MEG hardback that included MEG: Origins, a prequel that had been written a few years ago only as an eBook. When I added the prequel, the two stories didn’t mesh as the quality of my writing had evolved over the last 20 years.

So I took four months to completely rewrite the original story, expanding chapters and scenes, developing characters and changing dialogue. I also included 17 original images I had commissioned over the years. The result is a completely different reading experience that is far beyond the original. The mass market paperback debuts in stores in early December.

I understand your interest in Great White sharks was partially sparked by reading Peter Benchley’s Jaws. How did that experience ignite a fascination with the Great White’s extinct cousin, Carcharodon Megalodon?

Steve Alten: Jaws sparked interest in Great Whites as a teen, but it wasn't enough. So I went to the library and checked out every book I could find about real Great White shark attacks. In most of them, there was a paragraph about Carcharodon Megalodon, the 70-foot prehistoric extinct cousin, usually accompanied by a black-and-white photo of six scientists sitting inside a Meg jaw. About 20 years later I was reading a TIME article about the Mariana Trench and hydrothermal vents and the story of MEG hit me. When I read Jaws, I remember wishing Benchley had written more shark attack scenes. I made sure MEG was filled with them.

A lot of avid readers and film fanatics are familiar with the Great White, but the Megalodon seems to lurk in the shadows a bit more. Through your research and writing, what facts about these prehistoric creatures have fascinated (or terrified) you the most?

Steve Alten: First and foremost, it was massive. We have their teeth, the biggest measuring a whopping 7.5 inches. Figure that one inch of tooth equals ten feet of shark and you can only imagine how monstrous this creature was. Forget about T-Rex and the Mosasaur in Jurassic World, Megalodon was the apex predator of all-time.

Second, these sharks only disappeared recently, maybe a few million to 10,000 years ago... we think. Only 5% of the ocean has been explored and less than 1% of the deep water, which includes the trenches. The Mariana Trench is 40 miles wide and 1,550 miles long—and seven miles deep. Could they be down there? It's possible. And if they were alive, living in darkness there's a good chance they'd be albinos. So we're talking about a 60–70ft pure white prehistoric Great White—and that's the MEG series and the movie that's being made by Warner Bros. and director Eli Roth.

You made a lot of sacrifices and put in a ton of hard work along the way to getting MEG written and published. Looking back almost two decades down the road, what moments from that journey stand out to you the most?

Steve Alten: The first movie offer from Hollywood Pics (Disney) was followed by a bidding war among the six biggest publishing houses, followed weeks later by MEG becoming the hot book at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Those moments really stand out. A year later the book debuted in hardback, which was very exciting, as was an appearance on The Today Show.

Of course, there were down times and disappointments, too. When the studio head of Hollywood Pics was fired in 1998, MEG went into reversion. Then New Line Cinema optioned the rights, where it languished for two more years because of funding and script issues before I reacquired the rights. It was about that time that I was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Then MEG's savior, producer Belle Avery, optioned MEG. Belle spent eight years getting MEG independently financed before adding Warner Bros. and some amazing talent. Without Belle and Apelles Entertainment none of this happens. Belle has also optioned Sharkman, The Loch, and Goliath. I guess the lesson here is you must expect the hard times with the good,

In addition to Jaws, do you have any other favorite creature features (on the page or screen) that have stuck with you and perhaps influenced or inspired your work?

Steve Alten: Vostok is filled with scary prehistoric creatures. The Omega Project was influenced by the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project. And MEG: Nightstalkers debuts this summer, featuring some of the nastiest creatures ever to have existed.

The film adaptation of MEG is highly anticipated due to its long trek to the cinema and Warner Bros.’ recent announcement that Eli Roth will direct the project. What are your thoughts on your seminal story finally coming to the big screen, and what is your reaction to Roth being at the helm?

Steve Alten: I'm very excited to have Warner Bros. as the studio that will shepherd the MEG series. Eli Roth's selection as director surprised me at first, but I think he's a great choice. He's obviously a huge shark fan, and his movies have created terror without relying on special effects, which could really make for an edge-of-your-seat movie.

How involved will you be in the creative process of the MEG movie?

Steve Alten: The original script that was funded was co-written by Belle and me, but it's evolved beyond that. My involvement from this point on is up to the studio, producers, and Eli Roth. They have my 100% support.

With the special expanded edition of MEG hitting shelves this week, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease for our readers, and where can they find you on social media?

Steve Alten: Sharkman will debut in paperback in early 2016, along with a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy I wrote (under the pen name L.A. Knight) called Dog Training the American Male. My Facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/SteveAlten. You can find all of my work and projects at www.SteveAlten.com.

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Press Release: West Palm Beach, FL, November 30, 2015 – Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water … MEG by NY Times and international bestselling author, Steve Alten, is back with an all-new expanded 20th anniversary edition mass market paperback and a motion picture from Warner Brothers, to be directed by Eli Roth. The new novel, to be released this week by VIPER PRESS (a division of A&M Publishers) includes a never-before published prequel and 17 original graphic illustrations.

MEG is currently utilized by thousands of high school teachers in the US, in collaboration with Alten's non-profit, Adopt-An-Author reading program.  The free program is designed to excite young adults to read through the use of page-turning thrillers and through direct contact with the authors.

Steve Alten has kept his fans in awe through MEG and its sequels.  It's been a dream for many of them to see MEG on the big screen.  Now that dream will become a reality. "I remember reading JAWS as a teen,” says Alten. "The book and movie got me interested in Great White sharks, which led me to Carcharodon Megalodon, the species' 70-foot, 70,000 pound prehistoric cousin. Twenty years later I penned the first draft of MEG. It took another twenty years to get the movie greenlit. The MEGheads have been champing at the bit, but I know it'll be worth the wait. And this new version of the MEG novel is light years above the original.”

NY Times and international bestselling author Steve Alten penned MEG in the days when he was struggling to support his family of five.  MEG was a labor of love and a storyline he had been thinking about for years.  After selling his car to pay for his editing fees, Alten could only wait to see how the book would be received.  His tireless nights and weekends spent writing resulted in a two-book, seven-figure deal with Bantam Doubleday.  Fast-forward nearly 20 years and Alten has delighted his fans with MEG sequels and now the promise of enjoying MEG on the big screen.

For more information, visit www.SteveAlten.com.

MEG
By Steve Alten
Viper Press (A&M Publishing)
ISBN-10: 1-943957-01-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-9439-5701-9
$9.99 paperback

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and all major online outlets.