By early 1982, Belushi’s notorious drug habits had worsened
 significantly – to the point where, even in the carefree era of
 recreational usage, there was no denying he was out of control.
  Feeling his career had already peaked and there was nowhere to
go but down, Belushi decided to take his next film into his own
 hands. Despite the fact that he was no writer, he teamed up with
Novello to reconfigure an existing movie script called SWEET
DECEPTION (written by former "Mary Tyler Moore" writer/produ-
cer Jay Sandrich) into NOBLE ROT, a comedy about winemaking.
 Togeher with Novello, Belushi spent nearly a year tweaking the plot. 

It was a romantic comedy/adventure about a young, un-
sophisticated guy named Johnny Glorioso, who takes an elite
 new California wine to a New York wine tasting contest (the
wine has the much desired and very rare fungus named Botrytis
or "noble rot" of the film's title, that can either destroy an entire
 crop or turn it into a legendary smooth and sweet wine), falls
 in love with a very untrustworthy but sexually desirable young
 woman named Christine (who is responsible for the multiple
 thefts of his beloved few wine samples for the competition),
 becomes involved with a diamond smuggling ring, and maybe
 grows up a little and loses his naivete in the process, while
 getting the last laugh in the kind of final scene that audiences
 loved seeing Belushi have.  Belushi considered it the role he
 was born to play, and became obsessed with getting it produced.

However, Paramount Pictures (the studio behind producing a
 potential film of NOBLE ROT, including at that time Michael Eisner)
 was nonplussed with the script and was instead pushing Belushi
to star in a sophomoric comedy based on the popular book, THE
 JOY OF SEX, to be directed by Penny Marshall of "Laverne and
Shirley" fame (a completely different version was created a
 few years after Belushi's death by director Martha Coolidge).
  Meanwhile, Aykroyd had also intended for Belushi to star in the
supernatural comedy, GHOSTBUSTERS (1984), which he was co-
scripting with ANIMAL HOUSE writer Harold Ramis. By this time,
 Belushi was heavily into punk rock (especially the raw L.A.
punk band FEAR, who's members he was hanging around with
at the time) – to the point of alienating friends who would not
 listen to it.  Belushi moved out to Hollywood to continue writing
 the film with Novello, feeling it would restore his cinematic mojo.

Don Novello with Tommy Smothers in
Napa Valley, scouting locations for NOBLE ROT

Holed up in a bungalow at Los Angeles’ tony Chateau Marmont
 hotel on the Sunset Strip, Belushi hit the L.A. party scene
harder than ever before – which, not surprisingly, resulted
 in a frustrated Novello usually having to write and revise
 the script alone. At the same time, Paramount made it
known that the NOBLE ROT drafts they were seeing were
 unacceptable. Feeling the pinch, Belushi put it into overdrive
 and let go of the wheel.  During the nights scoring drugs and
 partying till dawn on the Sunset Strip at such clubs as the
Roxy and the Rainbow, Belushi met a former backup singer
(and girlfriend of Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot) named
 Cathy Smith. Smith, a junkie, introduced Belushi to the next
 step on the chemical ladder : heroin.  Always afraid of needles
 and knowing heroin was the point-of-no-return, Belushi now
 began experimenting with the dangerous opiate, combining
it with cocaine into the ultra-rush "speedball". With Aykroyd
 secretly planning a flight to the West Coast to bring his troubled
 friend back home, Belushi began a non-stop three-day binge.

On March 5, 1982, after Hollywood pals Robin Williams and
 Robert De Niro left his bungalow in the early morning hours,
Smith administered the umpteenth speedball to Belushi.
 In the morning, allegedly seeing him still snoring and alive,
she took his car and left to run errands. Later in the morning
 while she was gone, Belushi’s personal trainer, Bill Wallace,
 showed up to rouse his friend to work out; instead discovering
he was not breathing. After frantically applying CPR and
summoning medical help, Wallace knew it was too late for
 Aykroyd to help his doomed friend.  John Belushi was dead. 

And Johnny Glorioso would never live on the screen.

John Belushi in Napa Valley,
scouting locations for NOBLE ROT