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.
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The Curse of Atuk: The Script That Hollywood's Greatest Comedians Couldn't Survive
At 9:33 · 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.
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.
Sam Kinison was a fire-and-brimstone preacher
Before becoming a comedian, Sam Kinison worked as a fire-and-brimstone itinerant preacher — a fact that surprised even the hosts.
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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