Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz have been accused of causing the $80 million budget for action film Sahara to double because of their vanity.

The claims appear in legal documents released as part of a bitter court battle between Crusader Entertainment boss Philip Anschutz and Clive Cussler, author of Sahara.

Cussler is currently suing Crusader, claiming it reneged on an agreement to give him creative control of the movie adaptation.

The leaked document, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, shows $420,000 was spent on the movie's leading actors, including $105,000 on bottled water and $54,000 on a 'facial disease specialist'.

Other expenses for the 2005 movie - which recorded losses of $105 million - included filming the $2 million crash of a vintage airplane in a 46-second sequence which never made it into the final cut.