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The Curse of Atuk: The Script That Hollywood's Greatest Comedians Couldn't Survive
At 12:44 · chapter starts 8:50
The story of Atuk begins innocuously enough: a witty Canadian satirical novel gets optioned, Americanized, and passed around Hollywood for years. Then the deaths begin. John Belushi fell in love with the script in 1982 and died of a drug overdose before production could start. Sam Kinison signed on in 1988, got 8 days into filming before imploding in a lawsuit with the studio, and died in a car crash in 1992. John Candy and screenwriter Michael O'Donoghue both died in 1994, the same year they teamed up on the project [1] "Five of comedy's biggest names — John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy, Chris Farley, and Phil Hartman — all died after separately being at…" 08:50 . Chris Farley took it on in 1997 with his pal Phil Hartman, and both of them died within the following year. Josh and Chuck note that other killer scripts, like A Confederacy of Dunces, share some of the same names — which complicates the Atuk-specific theory, but doesn't entirely defuse the eeriness.
The Curse of Atuk: The Script That Killed Five Comedians
Five of comedy's biggest names — John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy, Chris Farley, and Phil Hartman — all died after separately being attached to the unproduced Hollywood script 'Atuk.' The movie still hasn't been made. No other unproduced script has a body count like this.
The Incomparable Atuk published in 1963
The satirical Canadian novel 'The Incomparable Atuk' by Mordecai Richler, the basis for the cursed Hollywood script, was published in 1963.
John Belushi and Sam Kinison: The First Two Victims of Atuk
John Belushi was attached to Atuk in 1982 and died of a drug overdose at 33 before filming began. Sam Kinison took over in 1988, actually got 8 days into filming before a lawsuit halted production, then died in a car crash at 38. Two stars, two deaths, zero movies.
Atuk script linked to 5 celebrity deaths
Five entertainers — Belushi, Kinison, Candy, Farley, and Hartman — died after being attached to the unproduced Hollywood script 'Atuk,' spanning from 1982 to 1998.
John Candy and Michael O'Donoghue: A Double Curse in 1994
In 1994, screenwriter Michael O'Donoghue recruited John Candy for Atuk. Both men died that same year — Candy at 43 from a heart attack, O'Donoghue from a cerebral hemorrhage at 58. Two men. One script. One year. Zero movie.
The Tamerlane Curse: Digging Up a Warlord and Paying the Price
In 1941, Stalin ordered Soviet scientists to exhume the remains of Tamerlane — the 14th-century conqueror responsible for 17 million deaths. Two days later, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the largest land invasion in history. Stalin reportedly re-entombed Tamerlane around the time the tide turned at Stalingrad.
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