10 Cursed Movie Productions
4. Atuk
Canadian satirical novel The Incomparable Atuk is one of Hollywood’s spookiest unfinished projects. Much like A Confederacy Of Dunces, there have been numerous abortive efforts to turn the book into a film. This time, though, the body count rose a lot higher.
John Belushi was the first to go, attached to the picture not long before his death. A short while later, comedian Sam Kennison took over, enthusiastically rejigging the script to suit his brash persona. Kennison proved difficult to work with, the project stalled, and before it got back on track, he died too.
The script then passed through John Candy (dead at 54), who would co-star with his pal Michael O’Donoghue, who passed away at the same age. Chris Farley would soon follow. Atuk wound up in the hands of the great Phil Hartman, who was murdered by his wife in 1998.
Whatever you choose to believe, half a dozen deaths proved enough to shelve this project for the foreseeable future. Given the talent involved, it’s safe to say the drafts of Atuk must have been pretty decent - but probably a chance not worth taking.