Hollywood Urban Legends: The Curse of Atuk

Atuk was a script for a movie based on an old novel from the 60's but where does the curse come in. It is said every actor who read the script has died. Atuk is most famous for supposedly being cursed and, according to legend, responsible for the deaths of several major comedic actors in the 1980s and 1990s. The 'Atuk Curse' has become one of the better known urban legends of Hollywood. Its first victim, supposedly, was John Belushi, who had read the script and was reportedly enthusiastic about taking on the role of Atuk. Shortly afterwards, he was found dead of a drug overdose in 1982. After Belushi's death the part was offered to comedian Sam Kinison, who accepted it in 1988. Kinison filmed at least one scene for the film before he grew dissatisfied with the script and demanded parts of it be re-written, halting production. His leaving the film led the production company to file a lawsuit against him which was a large part in of making him destitute when it finally settled. Not long afterward, while talks were underway to continue the project, Kinison died in a car crash in 1992. The curse supposedly struck again in 1994 when John Candy, who had been approached for the role of Atuk, was reading the script when he suddenly died of a heart attack, on March 4 (the day before the 12th anniversary of Belushi's death). It was around this point in the production's history that the press began to speak of a curse. Some believe the curse struck twice that year, since in November Michael O'Donoghue died of a cerebral hemorrhage. O'Donoghue was a writer and comedian who was also a friend of Belushi and Kinison and, the story goes, had read the script (in some versions even worked on it) before recommending it to them. The most recent victim of the "Atuk Curse" is said to be Chris Farley, who idolized John Belushi. Like his idol, he was up for the role of Atuk, and was about to accept when, also like his idol, he died of a drug overdose in December 1997 at the age of 33 (the same age as Belushi). According to some versions the curse would strike once more, only six months later in May 1998 when Farley's friend and former Saturday Night Live cast-mate, Phil Hartman, was murdered by his wife. Farley is said to have shown the Atuk script to Hartman, before his death, and was encouraging him to take a co-starring role. The "Atuk Curse" resembles another alleged curse on a film project: the long-attempted film adaptation of the 1980 novel A Confederacy of Dunces. Many of the same actors who were considered for the role of Atuk before their deaths - Belushi, Candy and Farley - were also considered for the lead role in A Confederacy of Dunces. Atuk’s influence was so sinister that it appeared to have struck people who merely read the script, including Saturday Night Live writer Michael O’Donoghue, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 54, and actor Phil Hartman, who was killed at age 49 by his wife Brynn in a drug-fueled murder suicide. Does Atuk exert some kind of evil, deadly force? Atuk (Inuit for "Grandfather") is the name of an as-yet-unfilmed American film screenplay, intended to be a film adaptation based upon the 1963 novel The Incomparable Atuk by acclaimed Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It is essentially a fish out of water comedy of a proud, mighty Inuit hunter trying to adapt to life in the big city with satirical elements on racism, materialism and popular culture. Peter Gzowski's afterword adds some historical context, and elaborates on the satirized real-life (very real) counterparts of several of the novel's minor characters, including Pierre Berton. The script for the proposed film adaptation has been in existence since at least the very early 1980s, and although numerous Hollywood film studios have shown an interest in producing the film over the years, the movie remains unfilmed and the entire project in development hell. The film script is also renowned for an alleged paranormal curse which, as an urban legend, has said to have killed all the actors who have shown an interest in the lead role. These include John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy, and Chris Farley, and even others who were planning to be in the film or associates of the late leads who had read the script in their presence, such as Michael O'Donoghue and Phil Hartman. Plot In the novel, Atuk is a Canadian Inuit poet from Baffin Island who gets transplanted to Toronto; however in the proposed film screenplay Atuk is a native of Alaska who ends up in New York City. In the film adaptation, Atuk was to be the son of an Inuit woman and a missionary who dreams of seeing the world outside of the Inuit territory of Alaska. He sees his chance when a beautiful documentarian named Michelle Ross and her crew, arrive to film the village he lives in. Atuk stows away in Michelle's plane when her crew takes off from another village, after the crew lands in Canada. Michelle has no choice but to take Atuk with her past the border and into America. The two end up at Michelle's destination, New York City. Meanwhile, powerful real estate mogul Alexander McKuen is planning to erect a massive metropolis on top of Alaska's wilderness called The Emerald. McKuen is clashing with environmentalists over the project, because they claim the city will poison the ecosystem there. McKuen is also having problems with his sixteen-year-old son Bishop, an underage drinker and smoker who is a terror at his school. Bishop goes joyriding in his boat while he is supposed to be punished, and crashes near the pier where Atuk is and begins to drown. Atuk jumps in and saves Bishop. Bishop befriends Atuk, and takes him out for a night on the town. Alexander decides to have Atuk stay at their mansion until they can put him up in one of their hotels, something McKuen's wife Vera objects to. McKuen reveals to Atuk that Michelle works for him, and tells Atuk he wants him to be a part of an image campaign for McKuen's project, Atuk accepts. Bishop is sent off to military school, and is angry at Atuk for having sold out to his father. Michelle and Atuk travel back to Alaska to shoot the commercials for McKuen's Emerald project, in an attempt to reassure the environmentalists who are critical of the project. Atuk is put into dark makeup and is put through primitive Inuit paces, which makes him feel unnatural. But as they work together, Atuk and Michelle realize that they like each other very much. At a viewing of the commercial, Atuk realizes that by editing, McKuen has used him to sell his message. Atuk now knowing that he's been taken advantage of, breaks Bishop out of the military academy and using a dog sled, hurries to a hearing about plans for The Emerald and convinces everyone there that he was wrong to endorse McKuen's plans because the project will be bad for the land. With all of the investors for the project pulled out, McKuen and Bishop reconcile. Atuk returns to his village, but the next day Michelle arrives in a plane asking him to go to Hawaii with her. Atuk accepts and the two fly off in the plane, with Bishop in the co-pilot's seat. Atuk has not and, due to its infamy (along with the fact so many involved with it seem to keep dying), in all likelihood never will be made into a film. A copy of the script was purportedly put up for auction on eBay in recent years. The curse has been a featured topic on several TV shows and documentaries. Ironically the author of the novel on which it is based, Richler, and writer of the afterword Gzowski both died peacefully in 2001 and 2002 respectively, after enjoying long lives and successful careers. Submit News/Videos/Links | Discuss article | Article Link | More Unsolved and Unexplained Mysteries