The Curse of Atuk
The bizarre connection between an unmade film and the deaths of several beloved actors
Some consider the unproduced screenplay Atuk cursed. Based on Mordecai Richler’s 1963 novel The Incomparable Atuk, the story follows a young Inuit poet and native of Baffin Island. The titular character is transported to Toronto where he oddly becomes an overnight success. After being exalted by Canada’s urbanite citizenry, Atuk quickly adopts the greed and pretensions of metropolitan life. He abandons creating poetry for more ‘lucrative’ schemes, however, his plans all fall flat. The Incomparable Atuk is noteworthy for satirizing the pompousness of a Canadian society attempting to emulate the ‘American Dream.’
In 1977, director Norman Jewison commissioned writer Tod Carroll to adapt the novel for film.
The screenplay would see Atuk become a native of Alaska who longs to explore the world outside his small village. He becomes smitten with the beautiful Michelle Ross who visits his village on assignment. Atuk follows her and her crew back to New York City, where he becomes embroiled in a scheme to plaster an urban metropolis atop Alaska’s wilderness.
Carroll completed his final draft of the script in 1979, and tapped actor John Belushi, a personal friend, for the lead role of Atuk. Belushi was…
