Since the dawn of the entertainment business, various urban legends have been birthed beneath the surface of all the glitz and glamour of popular culture. Like the folklore told around a campfire, the urban legends of Hollywood and the music industry have fascinated conspiracy theorists, pop culture historians, and believers of superstition, simply by associating a grand, mythical component to their mediums through a series of unexplainable occurrences. Perhaps the most acknowledged myth in entertainment is the notorious “27 club”, a group consisting of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, and several other troubled musicians who passed away at the ripe age of 27. However, it is the little-known myth that circumvents the playful script of The Incomparable Atuk, a story of an Innuit Eskimo who travels to New York, that has frightened Hollywood production companies to the point of liquidating the entire project and hiding the script in the archives along with other non-finished film productions, so the seemingly harmful tale would never cause harm to anyone again.
Initially, The Incomparable Atuk was a comedy-novel written in 1963 by Canadian author Mordecai Richler, telling the story of Atuk, a gifted environmental poet of Innuit-descent, who is lauded by a major publishing company in Toronto, and later persuaded to visit Toronto in an effort by the publishing company to land a publishing deal. Naturally, unaccustomed to the franticness of a big city, Atuk is prone to blunders, failing to grasp the intricacy of day-to-day life, and behaving beneath the standard of societal customs. However, it is later revealed that Atuk is a more than willing participant to indulge in the luxuries of acclaim, as the novel reveals that Atuk has a corrupted past. The story of Atuk is not foreign to Hollywood comedies, as films with similar premises of a man out of his element have been explored in films such as Coming to America, Beverly Hills Ninja, and Elf. Nevertheless, The Incomparable Atuk garnered critical acclaim, and shortly after the novels release, The Incomparable Atuk was rumored to be apart of discussions amongst playwrights to adapt the novel to theater.
However, failing to gain any traction in the theater community, Richler entertained the idea of adapting his novel to film. Throughout the Seventies, The Incomparable Atuk film adaption would continue to draw interest from Hollywood elite, including rumors of Ringo Starr and Dustin Hoffman showing intrigue to play the main character. Likewise, Milos Foreman, the director of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, was speculated in tabloids to be hired to direct the film adaptation. Yet the employment of Foreman was more-or-less Hollywood hearsay, and the film failed to secure a contractual agreement with Hoffman or Starr. The closest the film had gotten to entering production was the eventual hire of Canadian-Director Norman Jewison and Screenwriter Todd Carroll, who were both infatuated with film potential of The Incomparable Atuk but were unable to attach an established star presence to meet market appeal.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of the Eighties, the luck of the film had begun to shift, when John Belushi, the biggest name in comedy at the time, agreed to play the title character. Belushi, who had elevated his career to an unprecedented level of fame through his comedic work on Saturday Night Live and Animal House, was the most sought-after comedic actor entering the Eighties. The SNL graduate had become a household name across the nation through his iconic late-night sketches and the ability to attach his name to any film production was a humongous asset, for his film presence alone produced credibility to a comedy-genre film. In other words, Belushi was a guaranteed money-maker and The Incomparable Atuk seemed destined to finally achieve the potential that Jewison and Carroll prophesized. Unfortunately, Belushi would never get the chance to portray Atuk, for the comedic mastermind passed away from a combined over-dose of heroin and cocaine in 1982, at the age of 33. Belushi’s death sent shockwaves across the nation, as comedians and fans of his brilliance endured immense grief at his untimely passing. Furthermore, unbeknownst to the crew, The Incomparable Atuk had claimed its first victim.
For the next four years, The Incomparable Atuk was, once again, unable to land a suitable leading man for the role of Atuk. However, in 1986, the film rights were purchased by United Artists Pictures and decided to cast Sam Kinison, the loud, brash stand-up comedian, who had emerged as a popular stand-up comic in the mid-80’s for his energetic, grotesque, and unfiltered live performances. In 1988, the film had finally entered production, able to shoot roughly eight days’ worth of film, until Kinison believed he had been misled in his actual role in the filmmaking process. Kinison was under the impression that he would be granted a large portion of creative control, extending into revisions of the screenplay, which head Screenwriter Todd Carroll and the United Artist Pictures denied. The issue over creative control went unresolved and festered into a prolonged $5.6 million dollar lawsuit filed by United Artist Picture’s, who intended to sue Kinison on grounds of “acting with despicable conduct.” Film production was on hiatus for the next four years, but the lawsuit was eventually settled in 1992, thereby concluding the lengthy disagreement between the two parties and permitting the beginning of production. However, on April 10th, 1992, Sam Kinison and his wife were apart of a head-on car collision, when a 17-year-old driver under the influence struck the comedian vehicle. Kinison’s wife would only suffer from a mild concussion, but Sam Kinison would not share the same fate, for the 38-year old comic would pass away due to complications from the injuries he incurred.
At the time of Kinison’s death, The Incomparable Atuk had been associated to the loss of two lead men, endured a four-year lawsuit, and had been in production purgatory for nearly thirty years. Nevertheless, the United Artist Picture’s persisted forward with the production of the film, this time approaching John Candy, the comedy darling of the 1980’s, who was beloved for his roles in Blues Brothers, Uncle Buck, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The studio executives at United Artist’s discussed the role of Atuk with John Candy in 1994, who seemed delighted to take on the role of Atuk as his next project. However, while John Candy was working on another film in Durango, Mexico, Candy abruptly suffered from a heart attack on March 4th, 1994, passing away at the age of 43. Once again, the nation grieved at the loss of another comedic behemoth, at which point, rumors began to spread of a cursed script causing the demise of the humorous big-men. Hauntingly, it was rumored that at the time of Candy’s heart attack, he was researching the role of Atuk, while reading the script.
Lastly, with one final shot, United Artist’s Pictures approached Chris Farley, the star of Saturday Night Live throughout the Nineties, whose stardom was unparalleled, rivaling only his slain hero, John Belushi. Like Belushi, Farley was widely considered the most adored comedic actor of his generation and acquiring a talent of Farley’s magnitude was the United Artist’s last-ditch effort to produce the script. Farley, whose popularity was at his peak with his over-the-top performances on Saturday Night Live and his loveable, goofball portrayal of Tommy Callahan in Tommy Boy, had always idolized John Belushi. Once word got back to Farley that Belushi was the original actor casted to play main character in The Incomparable Atuk, the script caught Farley’s attention, and he began to show interest in resuming the role in honor of his fallen hero. Alas, similar to the devastating losses of Belushi, Kinison, and Candy, Chris Farley passed away due to a drug overdose on December 18th, 1997. At the time of his death, Farley was 33, the same age that his idol, John Belushi, perished a mere 15 years later.
The death of Farley was the conclusion of thirty-odd year odyssey to produce The Incomparable Atuk and a collective suspicion continued to increase that the script was tainted with a ghoulish curse. In 1999, Neda Raouff published an article for the Los Angeles Times titled “The ‘Atuk’ Curse”, detailing the events that surrounded the production of the script, and since then, the “Atuk Curse” has loomed in the shadow of the seemingly innocent script. In contrast to the four deaths casted or interested in playing the lead role, two other deaths have been attributed to the “Atuk Curse.” Michael O’Donoghue, a joke writer for Saturday Night Live and friend of John Candy’s, read the script and was rumored to be brought on to help with script revisions, but passed away shortly after John Candy from a brain hemorrhage at 54 years old. Likewise, Chris Farley discussed with SNL running mate and long-time friend, Phil Hartman, if he would consider accepting a supporting role, yet Hartman, after reading the script, was tragically murdered by his wife after a marital disagreement.
Perhaps all six deaths are a simple coincidence. Logically speaking, it seems unlikely that a script could possess this much power over the lives of Hollywood’s most beloved comedic actors. Nevertheless, the script for The Incomparable Atuk has since been lost in the archives of United Artist Pictures, considered an omen amongst the Hollywood elite, and possessing a title analogous to Voldemort, where no larger-than-life comedian, in fame and in size, will ever mention its name. Overall, who is to say if the script was really cursed. Each man's death, although untimely and unexpected, were attributed to some form of health issues, substance abuse, or random acts of nature. Could a Hollywood script really be the cause of all this grief? Regardless if the curse is real or not, the script remains an urban legend within the boardrooms of Hollywood’s major production companies, none of which would dare resurrect the harmless-yet-menacing tale of an Eskimo’s embarkment on the Big Apple. The Incomparable Atuk will forever remain shackled in the gallows of the unproduced Hollywood scripts, never to harm Hollywood’s great comedic talent ever again, and remain apart the lore of Hollywood as the most dangerous script ever written.
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