The Atuk Movie Script Curse

Atuk is the name of a screenplay adaptation based on the 1963 novel The Incomparable Atuk by Mordecai Richler.

Atuk is most infamous, however, for supposedly being cursed and, at least partly responsible for the deaths of several major comedic actors in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Atuk Curse has become one of the best 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. The curse's next alleged victim was Sam Kinison, who took on the role in 1987 and filmed at least one scene for the film before he grew dissatisfied with the script and quit. He ultimately died in an automobile accident in 1992. The curse would strike 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). 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 final victim of the Atuk Curse, to date, 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. Although 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.

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.

The movie was also referenced in the commentary track for 2004's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, in which Adam McKay repeatedly pitches a screenplay called "Eskimo in New York" to Will Ferrell. Will remarks several times that he doesn't think it will make a good movie, and refuses to be a part of it.

wow, I've never heard this one before.
Could it be that all those guys who would've played the part were just not taking good care of themselves anyway, and therefor more prone to dying?

Here's a crazy angle....
I'm reading a book called Lullaby right now, about a guy who discovers the reason for SIDS is caused by mothers reading a certain nursery rhyme that kills those who hear it. It's called a culling song. Perhaps something of the like exists in the script so that those who read it end up dying shortly there after.

I think it's probably a lot of drugs and partying tho.

this actually sounds kinda scary i was watching E True Hollywood Stories and i heard from it right there and it does sound weird how all those actors died from the script maybe it was cursed but who knows maybe one day they'll try to film the movie again

reply to post by calihan123


that is my actual last name, what chance do you think i would have on doing that role?

reply to post by calihan123
dear writers.
i have heard the suposeably curse that follows
this script and its quite comical its true that it has a history but.
i think its all in the head further more if was an actor id do the
movie. and id prove once in for all there is no such thing as curses

Not to throw the thread off topic but has anyone read up on the curse of the omen the film, that is one freaky amount of coincidences or a real curse of tempting the fate of the devil! (if you believe in him) check it out it,s a great one, i have not heard this threads particular curse so shall look into it thanks for sharing.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


"Could it be that all those guys who would've played the part were just not taking good care of themselves anyway, and therefor more prone to dying?"

with the exception of Phil Hartman, I'd say there could be some substance to your comment.

The movie Poltergeist also is supposed to have a curse attached to it.

Anuk is the #4 seed in
The Insane True Stories Behind 6 Cursed Movies

#6.The Poltergeist Trilogy

The Curse:

Everyone who appeared in the poltergeist trilogy is now dead, says an extreme and entirely untrue version of the poltergeist curse. Indeed, Nancy Allen, (Robocop's sidekick), is very much still alive. It's just her career that's dead. What is true is that four of the trilogy's actors all died within 6 years of the first movie, giving rise to talk of The Poltergeist Curse.
...

#5.Superman

The Curse:

The Superman Curse has supposedly cast a number of misfortunes on people involved in the Superman franchise over the decades, from career ruin to death.
...

#4.Atuk (Unreleased)

The Curse:

Atuk is a "hilarious" fish out of water screenplay about an Eskimo who comes to New York. It was never filmed however because people in Hollywood just don't know a good thing when they see it. Oh and also, it killed John Belushi.

Belushi had read the script and was interested in the role when he died of a drug overdose in 1982. So what, right? But everything, as Einstein once said, is relative. And everything, as a Cracked editor once said, can be made to look like it's connected for the purposes of a comedy article.

After Belushi's death the lead role went to comedian Sam Kinison. Numerous problems delayed production, Kinison demanded parts of the movie be re-written and production was halted. A few years passed, the script remained cursed and Kinison died in a car crash. The curse had apparently struck again.

The film's lead role was then passed to John Candy in 1994. Candy took the script completely unaware that it was cursed (Read: a fish out of water comedy about an Eskimo) and promptly died of a heart attack. The screenplay was buried in Hollywood somewhere and all chubby comedians swore to stay clear of the film for good.

Except for Chris Farley, who in 1997 was also in talks for the lead role when he died of a drug overdose.

Most Tenuous Link to the Curse:

In 1994, the same year John Candy was murdered (by a screenplay), Michael O'Donoghue died. Who's Michael O'Donoghue? Well, he was John Belushi's friend. Man, that's creepy.
...

#3.Rosemary's Baby

The Curse:

Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 Roman Polanski film about a Manhattan woman whose husband signs a Faustian pact with the Satan-worshipping cult next door.

The film's composer died of a brain clot one year after making the film, the same way a character in the film dies. Then producer William Castle suffered kidney failure soon after the film was made, and swore the movie was cursed after crying out "Rosemary, for God's sake drop that knife" while being treated.

But those stories aside, the curse is mainly built around the insanely #ty luck of Roman Polanski. In March of 1969 Polanski had bought a house for himself and his 8 months pregnant wife Sharon Tate. Unfortunately, Polanski had broken the first rule of real estate: never buy a house from someone who pissed off Charles Manson.
...

#2.The Conqueror

... clearly a film headed for success and mass universal critical acclaim. Damn you, supernatural curse!

At one point a flash flood nearly killed the entire crew. Having survived that, lead actress Susan Hayward survived an attack by a black panther.

Unfortunately for Susan and the rest of the cast, health and safety regulations weren't quite as strict in the 1950s as they are now. For instance, stuntmen didn't have to wear any kind of harness, fire drills weren't mandatory and movies could be filmed downwind from Nevada desert above-ground nuclear test facilities.

Thus the actors and crew were exposed to nuclear fallout for the 13 weeks they filmed in Snow Canyon, downwind from the Yucca Flats were the US Army tested 11 atomic bombs. The rest of the movie was filmed in Hollywood, but Howard Hughes managed to maintain the integrity of the movie's Mongolian setting by shipping 60 tones of nuclear contaminated dirt from Snow Canyon back to Hollywood.

Over the next few years, 91 of the 220 crew members developed cancer, 46 died including John Wayne, Susan Hayward and the director. One of the film's other stars, Pedro Armendariz, committed suicide when he found out his cancer was terminal.
...

#1.The Omen

The Curse:

No film in history has had worse luck than The Omen. Hell, nothing in history has had worse luck than The Omen. The Jews have had better luck.

During filming scriptwriter David Seltzer's plane was hit by lighting, as was star Gregory Peck's, as was executive producers Mace Neufelds'.

Lucky for all of them, lighting doesn't strike twice. But know what does? IRA bombings. A hotel Neufeld was staying at during production was bombed by the IRA, as was a restaurant the director and actors were scheduled to eat at. Luckily no one died.

An assistant to special effects consultant John Richardson on the other hand, wasn't quite as lucky. On Friday the 13th of August 1976, Richardson crashed his car in Holland. His assistant was sliced through by the car's front wheel. Scrambling out of the wreckage, Richardson looked up and saw a road sign: Ommen, 66.6km.

One of the film's tiger handler's died. Gregory Peck's son shot himself. A plane scheduled for use in the film, which was rescheduled and used for a commercial flight instead, crashed and killed everyone on board.

We're not saying we believe in curses. We're just saying we should probably stop making movies about Satan.

Most Tenuous Link to the Curse:

A stuntman who worked on The Omen later hospitalised himself while working on the film A Bridge Too Far. Which is creepy. Except he's a stuntman. And deliberately threw himself off a roof.

So, it seems that the unreleased movie Atuk is the one killing off comedians.

However, these supernatural thrillers are cause for alarm, due to the nature of the subject matter. Eerily, it seems that these demonic flavoured films have consequences, unrelated or not.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


Liquid, another reason for this is a egyptian myth that said if you stole the script from it's original actor (it being offered to other people where stealing or having an intrest in the role your stealing(in this case it is the lead role) you will be curse which was usual death)

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


Liquid, another reason for this is a egyptian myth that said if you stole the script from it's original actor (it being offered to other people where stealing or having an intrest in the role your stealing(in this case it is the lead role) you will be curse which was usual death)

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


Liquid, another reason for this is a egyptian myth that said if you stole the script from it's original actor (it being offered to other people where stealing or having an intrest in the role your stealing(in this case it is the lead role) you will be curse which was usual death)