Atuk was a script for a movie based on an old novel from the 60's but where does the curse come in. It is said every actor who read the script has died. Atuk is most famous for supposedly being cursed and, according to legend, responsible for the deaths of several major comedic actors in the 1980s and 1990s. The 'Atuk Curse' has become one of the better known urban legends of Hollywood. Its first victim, supposedly, was John Belushi, who had read the script and was reportedly enthusiastic about taking on the role of Atuk. Shortly afterwards, he was found dead of a drug overdose in 1982.

After Belushi's death the part was offered to comedian Sam Kinison, who accepted it in 1988. Kinison filmed at least one scene for the film before he grew dissatisfied with the script and demanded parts of it be re-written, halting production. His leaving the film led the production company to file a lawsuit against him which was a large part in of making him destitute when it finally settled. Not long afterward, while talks were underway to continue the project, Kinison died in a car crash in 1992.

The curse supposedly struck again in 1994 when John Candy, who had been approached for the role of Atuk, was reading the script when he suddenly died of a heart attack, on March 4 (the day before the 12th anniversary of Belushi's death). It was around this point in the production's history that the press began to speak of a curse. Some believe the curse struck twice that year, since in November Michael O'Donoghue died of a cerebral hemorrhage. O'Donoghue was a writer and comedian who was also a friend of Belushi and Kinison and, the story goes, had read the script (in some versions even worked on it) before recommending it to them.

http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/Curse-of-Atuk.html