Movie Curses: Atuk

We’re starting a new blog series on one of our fave spooky Hollywood topics: movie curses! These are urban legends that a particular film role or movie is cursed and those who play the role or are involved in the film are doomed to meet some grim fate. But surely there’s nothing to these rumors…right?

One movie curse we’re obsessed with is from the unmade film, Atuk. It was intended to be a comedy about an Eskimo living in New York City based on the 1963 book The Incomparable Atuk by Mordecai Richler. The screenplay was originally written with the hysterical John Belushi in mind for the lead role and the actor was apparently very interested. However, just a few months later, Belushi died of an accidental overdose at the Chateau Marmont. But, the show must go on!

Soon after, the comedian Sam Kinison signed on for the lead role and was apparently super difficult to work with and wanted major parts of the script rewritten. Some say he even threatened to give an intentionally bad performance if his demands weren’t met. Yikes. However, the production of Atuk was once again derailed when Kinison died in a car crash.

This was horribly sad and tragic, but the creative forces behind Atuk once more said that the show must go on! They contacted character actor John Candy who expressed interest in the role but, before making his decision, promptly died of a heart attack. A few years later, Chris Farley was pegged for the role and, well…you can probably guess what happened, right?

After Farley’s death, Atuk was officially scrapped and remains one of Hollywood’s most infamous unmade movies. Is there a curse? We think so, but even if you don’t, it might be best to turn down the role if you ever get a call – just in case.

Atuk has never been made, but our film Beverly Hills Ghost has! Plus, we can guarantee that all members of our cast and crew are alive and well so there’s probs no curse. You can watch it now on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and Google Play.