So as to not to be—perhaps literally—crucified by what was by now a cult rather than a crew, Smith shared his new pages only with Vinny Lee (whose Grand Inquistor Ur was the only lead involved) and the Cavillaces, whom he'd hired the day before to play opposite. He had at this point decided to use the ziggurat as the ending rather than the middle scene, and to reshoot the scene that was originally set there.
Madeleine Price testified that upon reading the new scene, Lee seemed shaken to his core:
"I was getting a touch-up in hair and makeup when he finished reading it. He stood, I tell you, I’ll never forget it. I said, ‘Are you alright, luv?’ or something to that effect, I don’t know. But what he said—I know each word like it was yesterday. He was looking off, like he was seeing something in the distance, but we were in the trailer. He said… 'Heavy hangs the shoulder even after the burden lifted,' then, I swear to god, he looked me dead in my eyes and said, 'Lucifer is a girl's name,' and wandered off. I still don’t have the foggiest what he meant, but it haunts me still."
E.E. Smith, in his defense, added that after leaving the trailer, Lee came up to him before going to first positions and suggested they shoot alternate versions of the scene to show Goldman, but then burn those before post-production so Chariot would have no choice but to deliver the new ending.
"Vincent said that without that ending, what came before would be reckless. Yes, he said that word: 'reckless.'"
No one else heard this exchange.
The crampedness of the ancient space in Chuqi, due to overgrowth by datura vines, meant that only Lee, the Cavillaces, and a previously set up camera and small lighting scheme could fit into the inner chamber. They ran film and had the three crawl inside. It is unknown precisely what went wrong then, because the film from the scene was damaged beyond repair, but the ziggurat caved in. That was June 7th, 1982.
Patricia Chambers Smith described it as if "some mighty fist had crushed it between its great fingers."1
The collapse pulverized all three so that only one grave could be dug, with Lee's funeral taking place without a body in London four days later. That funeral was extravagant, and attended by the entire late 70s and early 80s rock, punk, and new wave scene. Simone Jordan would deliver a touching eulogy, one I may include if I can find a place for it in these publications.
By this point, Chariot had partnered with Italy's New Atlas Group to finish funding. They had removed Ty Ambrose and given exclusive power to Goldman, but it was too late. Upon hearing of the accident, the Italian investors ordered Goldman to halt production and shelve its footage. They sent a team in force to essentially arrest their own cast and crew and bring them home, by force if necessary.
The reels, the pages, were confiscated. Some by Peruvian authorities, who it is said wanted to cover up the incident after having permitted shooting in the 6000-year-old Chuqi Ziggurat. Most by Chariot Ln under pressure from New Atlas, who burned every bit of evidence they could.The loss of revenue due to the expense of the film, legal battles, and negative press disintegrated the production house for good.
Then, Simone Jordan dies of smoke inhalation when her Villa Park home burns to its foundations during the Gypsum Canyon fire of August 15, 1982. Roger Rothman is murdered on the set of the Cardamom Club in 1983, with Goldman heavily implicated. E.E. Smith is found “not guilty by reason of insanity” in the criminal trial surrounding the ziggurat crash. He is committed in 1984 to facilities near his Welsh home. Ken Fielding breaks his neck riding his motorcycle on May 27, 1985.2 Heather Dunne vanishes from the boat party, July 8, 1985. her ex-boyfriend and prime suspect in her disappearance, Mark Thompson, goes missing, October 7th, washes up October 9th that same year.3 The FBI declare Dunne officially deceased on August 22, 1987. Smith is released due to UK budget cutbacks in 1988. Jackie Goldman’s trial begins in 1989 and continues to 1991. Jenna Orenda solves a string of indigenous women’s disappearances, and herself disappears on September 23, 1992 before she can expose them. Jackie Goldman is convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1993. Dame Amber Daly’s best friend, Diana, Princess of Wales, dies August 31, 1997.4 Ken Fielding passes away of complications from his neck injury and old age, 2005. Pete Alan commits suicide in 2011. E.E. Smith commits suicide, 2017. No one that I talked to has seen or heard from Tyson Ambrose since 1982.
When listening to the curse skeptics, one finds it hard to disagree. We live in a real world, with laws of physics and constraints, no matter what happens at the subatomic levels. Mass hysteria accounts for most if not all of the so-called curse, while the once-hidden horrors of old Hollywood can account for the rest. The unusual amount of tragedy on this particular set proves nothing; sometimes a snowball causes an avalanche. The more cursed events, the more believers. The more believers, the more events—not only that we notice bad luck more when it can be tied to the movie, but that those who interact with it are more likely to cause their own bad luck.
But there; it’s this idea where I’m caught. Who said a curse wasn’t a meme, contracted and transferred, host to host—the mere junk idea of it, like a real virus (themselves mere junk RNA) self-perpetuating, growing in believability—until at last, everyone is at least a little afraid it may be real? Who says something that everyone fears isn’t real? Who says that magic has nothing to do with the mind? All things can be two things, and truths often paradoxes to these brains designed to see only one facet or another at once, rarely to reconcile them. So the curse is real, in that its effects are and its attachment to the movie a valid one, and as that it may be unavoidable: even if one can fully rid oneself of the belief in it, one could never truly be sure that everyone in their vacinity has, and hasn’t by elaborate facility subliminally set a series of events in motion to support that belief. So be careful, as you delve into this rabbit hole of nostalgia: try to keep in mind: a curse is only a curse if you believe.
Believe in The Realm.
Testimony before the grand jury, 1983.
This is the earliest point at which thoughts of a curse seem to surface.
This is around when people stop saying the name of the film on sets.
Nothing especially bad has befallen Dame Amber Daly or Sir Christopher Price as of this writing (knock on wood)—Diana’s death is a stretch but is the only thing tied to Daly that could be considered a cursed event.