Atuk

Last updated

Atuk (Inuit for "Grandfather") is the name of an unfilmed American screenplay, intended to be a film adaptation based upon the 1963 novel The Incomparable Atuk , by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It is essentially a fish out of water comedy of a proud, mighty Inuit hunter trying to adapt to life in the big city with satirical elements on racism, materialism, and popular culture.

Contents

Peter Gzowski's afterword adds some historical context, and elaborates on the satirized real-life counterparts of several of the novel's minor characters, including Pierre Berton. A film adaptation was planned in the beginning of the 1970s by Norman Jewison, who purchased the film rights. Another adaptation was to have been shot in 1988. Although numerous Hollywood film studios have shown an interest in producing the film over the years, it remains unfilmed and the entire project is in development hell.

An urban legend claims that a curse has killed all the actors who have shown an interest in the lead role. These include John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy and Chris Farley and even others who were planning to be in the film or associates of the late leads who had read the script in their presence, such as Michael O'Donoghue and Phil Hartman.

Plot

In the novel, Atuk is a Canadian Inuit poet from Baffin Island who gets transplanted to Toronto; however in the proposed film screenplay Atuk is a native of Alaska who ends up in New York City. In the film adaptation, Atuk was to be the son of an Inuit woman and a missionary who dreams of seeing the world outside of the Inuit territory of Alaska.

He sees his chance when a beautiful documentarian named Michelle Ross and her crew, arrive to film the village he lives in. Atuk stows away in Michelle's plane when her crew takes off from another village, after the crew lands in Canada. Michelle has no choice but to take Atuk with her past the border and into America.

The two end up at Michelle's destination, New York City. Meanwhile, powerful real estate mogul Alexander McKuen is planning to erect a massive metropolis on top of Alaska's wilderness called The Emerald. McKuen is clashing with environmentalists over the project, because they claim the city will poison the ecosystem there.

McKuen is also having problems with his sixteen-year-old son Bishop, an underage drinker and smoker who is a terror at his school. Bishop goes joyriding in his boat while he is supposed to be punished, and crashes near the pier where Atuk is and begins to drown. Atuk jumps in and saves Bishop. Bishop befriends Atuk, and takes him out for a night on the town. Alexander decides to have Atuk stay at their mansion until they can put him up in one of their hotels, something McKuen's wife Vera objects to.

McKuen reveals to Atuk that Michelle works for him, and tells Atuk he wants him to be a part of an image campaign for McKuen's project; Atuk accepts. Bishop is sent off to military school, and is angry at Atuk for having sold out to his father. Michelle and Atuk travel back to Alaska to shoot the commercials for McKuen's Emerald project, in an attempt to reassure the environmentalists who are critical of the project.

Atuk is put into dark makeup and is put through primitive Inuit paces, which makes him feel unnatural. But as they work together, Atuk and Michelle realize that they like each other very much. At a viewing of the commercial, Atuk realizes that by editing, McKuen has used him to sell his message.

Atuk, now knowing that he's been taken advantage of, breaks Bishop out of the military academy and, using a dog sled, hurries to a hearing about plans for The Emerald and convinces everyone there that he was wrong to endorse McKuen's plans because the project will be bad for the land. With all of the investors for the project pulled out, McKuen and Bishop reconcile. Atuk returns to his village, but the next day Michelle arrives in a plane asking him to go to Hawaii with her.

Atuk accepts and the two fly off in the plane, with Bishop in the co pilot's seat.

Development Hell

Norman Jewison purchased the rights to a film adaptation in 1971. Jewison planned to shoot it in Canada after Jesus Christ Superstar . [1] [2] John Belushi first read the role of Atuk in the beginning of 1982. He immediately expressed interest in the project and was set to play the character on screen when only months later, on March 5, 1982, he was found dead in his room at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, California. [3]

Atuk next began production in Toronto in February 1988. [4] Production halted after eight days. Sam Kinison said that his manager, Elliot Abbott, promised him creative control without clearing it with the studio. When Kinison attempted to rewrite the script, Abbott said that the studio tried to accommodate him, but Kinison grew difficult. Abbott and Kinison later severed their relationship. [5]

United Artists filed a lawsuit against Kinison in February 1988, in which they said that Kinison threatened to intentionally give a substandard performance. [6] Producer Chuck Roven briefly attempted to find a new lead but eventually gave up. [7] Subsequent actors to take an interest in the role include John Candy and Chris Farley, both of whom died before the film could be made. Scriptwriter Tod Carroll dismissed rumors of a curse in February 1999. [8]

It also attracted the interest of other actors who have survived well beyond the film's ceased production, such as Will Ferrell, Jack Black, John Goodman, and Josh Mostel – as well as Jonathan Winters, who lived to age 87, dying in April 2013 – though some might claim the "curse" also indirectly led to the untimely death of Robin Williams, Winters' virtual protege. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Aykroyd</span> Canadian-American actor (born 1952)

Daniel Edward Aykroyd is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Candy</span> Canadian actor and comedian (1950–1994)

John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its SCTV sketch comedy series. He rose to international fame in the 1980s with his roles in comedic films such as Stripes, Splash, Brewster's Millions, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Spaceballs, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck, and Cool Runnings. He also appeared in supporting roles in The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon's Vacation, Little Shop of Horrors, and Home Alone, and featured in dramatic roles in Only the Lonely and JFK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blues Brothers</span> American blues and soul band

The Blues Brothers are a fictitious American blues and soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast members of Saturday Night Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Farley</span> American comedian and actor (1964–1997)

Christopher Crosby Farley was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live for five seasons from 1990 to 1995. He went on to pursue a film career, appearing in films such as Airheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, and Almost Heroes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Jewison</span> Canadian filmmaker (1926–2024)

Norman Frederick Jewison was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects accessible to mainstream audiences. Among numerous other accolades, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times in three separate decades, for In the Heat of the Night (1967), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), and Moonstruck (1987). He was nominated for an additional four Oscars, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a BAFTA Award. He received the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999.

<i>An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn</i> 1997 American mockumentary film

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn is a 1997 American mockumentary black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller, written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Eric Idle as a director unfortunately named Alan Smithee, a traditional pseudonym used in Hollywood for directors disowning a project. The film follows Smithee as he steals the negatives to his latest film and goes on the run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Belushi</span> American actor (born 1954)

James Adam Belushi is an American actor. His television roles include the title role in According to Jim (2001–2009), Saturday Night Live (1983–1985), and Twin Peaks (2017).

<i>Ladyhawke</i> (film) 1985 medieval dark fantasy film by Richard Donner

Ladyhawke is a 1985 medieval fantasy film directed and produced by Richard Donner and starring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. The story is about a young thief who becomes unwillingly involved with a warrior and his lady who are hunted by the Bishop of Aquila. As he learns about the couple's past and secret, he chooses to help them overcome the Bishop's forces, and to lift an infernal curse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankenstein's monster</span> 1818 fictional character by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, and commonly but erroneously known as Frankenstein, is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus as the main antagonist. Shelley's title thus compares the monster's creator, Victor Frankenstein, to the mythological character Prometheus, who fashioned humans out of clay and gave them fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Kinison</span> American comedian (1953–1992)

Samuel Burl Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distinctive scream, similar to charismatic preachers. Initially performing for free, Kinison became a regular fixture at The Comedy Store where he met and eventually befriended such comics as Robin Williams and Jim Carrey. Kinison's comedy was crass observational humor, especially towards women and dating, and his popularity grew quickly, earning him appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. At the peak of his career in early 1992, he was killed in a car crash, aged 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod McKuen</span> American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer (1933–2015)

Rodney Marvin McKuen was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks and classical music. He earned two Academy Award nominations for his music compositions. McKuen's translations and adaptations of the songs of Jacques Brel were instrumental in bringing the Belgian songwriter to prominence in the English-speaking world. His poetry deals with themes of love, the natural world and spirituality. McKuen's songs sold over 100 million recordings worldwide, and 60 million books of his poetry were sold as well.

<i>The Grudge</i> 2004 American film by Takashi Shimizu

The Grudge is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge, it is the first installment in The Grudge film series. It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, and Bill Pullman. Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, and Takashi Matsuyama portray the characters Kayako Saeki, Toshio Saeki, and Takeo Saeki from the original films. The plot is told through a nonlinear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots.

<i>Wired</i> (film) 1989 film by Larry Peerce

Wired is a 1989 American biographical film of comedian and actor John Belushi, directed by Larry Peerce. It was based on the 1984 book of the same name by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, and adapted for the screen by Buckaroo Banzai creator Earl Mac Rauch. It stars Michael Chiklis in his film debut as Belushi. Wired was both a critical and a commercial failure. The film has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray, and the videocassette originally released by International Video Entertainment is out of print.

<i>Jesus Christ Superstar</i> (film) 1973 film adaptation by Norman Jewison

Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1973 American musical drama film directed by Norman Jewison and jointly written for the screen by Jewison and Melvyn Bragg; they based their screenplay on the 1970 rock opera of the same name, the libretto of which was written by Tim Rice and whose music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The film, featuring a cast of Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, Bob Bingham, Larry Marshall, Josh Mostel, Kurt Yaghjian and Philip Toubus, centres on the conflict between Judas and Jesus during the week of the crucifixion of Jesus.

<i>Lost in Alaska</i> 1952 film by Jean Yarbrough

Lost in Alaska is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

<i>The Incomparable Atuk</i> 1963 novel by Mordecai Richler

The Incomparable Atuk is a satirical novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1963, by McClelland and Stewart. The novel was published as Stick Your Neck Out in the United States. The Incomparable Atuk tells the story of a Canadian Inuit, who is transplanted to Toronto and quickly adopts the greed and pretensions of the big city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuit</span> Indigenous peoples of northern North America

Inuit are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Yukon (traditionally), Alaska, and Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo–Aleut languages, also known as Inuit-Yupik-Unangan, and also as Eskaleut. Inuit Sign Language is a critically endangered language isolate used in Nunavut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William W. Fitzhugh</span> American archaeologist and anthropologist

William Wyvill Fitzhugh IV is an American archaeologist and anthropologist who directs the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center and is a Senior Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History. He has conducted archaeological research throughout the circumpolar region investigating cultural responses to climate and environmental change and European contact. He has published numerous books and more than 150 journal articles, and has produced large international exhibitions and popular films. Of particular note are the many exhibition catalogues he has had edited, which make syntheses of scholarly research on these subjects available to visitors to public exhibitions.

<i>The Grizzlies</i> 2018 Canadian film

The Grizzlies is a 2018 Canadian sports drama film, directed by Miranda de Pencier. Based on a true story, the film depicts a youth lacrosse team that was set up to help combat an onslaught of youth suicide in the community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut.

<i>The Cat Creature</i> 1973 television film by Curtis Harrington

The Cat Creature is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film produced by Douglas S. Cramer and directed by Curtis Harrington from a teleplay by Robert Bloch and starring Meredith Baxter, David Hedison and Gale Sondergaard. The film serves as a tribute to the low-budget Val Lewton horror films of the 1940s and also features an appearance by Kent Smith, who starred in Lewton's original classic Cat People (1942) and its sequel The Curse of the Cat People (1944). It originally premiered as the ABC Movie of the Week on December 11, 1973.

References

  1. ↑ "It Wasn't His Last Picture Show". The Spokesman-Review . The New York Times News Service. 1972-03-09. p. 8B.
  2. ↑ "Jewison Will Film Incomparable Atuk". Ottawa Citizen . The Canadian Press. 1971-11-13. p. 38.
  3. ↑ Evans, Bradford (3 March 2011). "The Lost Roles of John Belushi". Splisider. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Klady, Leonard (1988-01-24). "Cinefile". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  5. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (1988-11-20). "What Makes Sammy Scream? : A Hellish Night Out With Sam Kinison, the Most Dangerous Man in Show Business". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  6. ↑ "Studio Sues Comedian for Failing to Do Movie". The Spokesman-Review . Associated Press. 1988-02-27. p. C2.
  7. ↑ "Into One Cast, Out of Another". Star-News . 1988-07-14. p. 2D.
  8. ↑ Raouf, Neda (1999-02-21). "The 'Atuk' Curse". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Brett. "Hollywood Curse Legends". csicop.org. CSI. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.