Many authors, including Stephen King, hated some movie adaptations of their work. His transformation is also the result of the serial killer’s special relationship with the walrus, similar to the special relationship featured in Parkinson’s fake ad. However, in Tusk the podcasters are considerably crueler than Smith and Mosier, and Wallace’s transformation into a human walrus can be interpreted as a karmic consequence of this cruelty. This was the start of the process that would eventually lead to Kevin Smith creating Tusk, which is why the movie focuses on Wallace and Teddy. In one episode of Askewniverse creator Kevin Smith’s SModcast podcast, they read the fake ad aloud and laugh about it, thinking it’s real.

But where do the film’s protagonists come from? The answer to this question is surprisingly simple: They are based on the film’s director, Kevin Smith, and his friend Scott Mosier ( Clerks). It's obvious that Tusk replaces the old man with a serial killer and the walrus costume with a grotesque surgical transformation into a human walrus. Thankfully, Kevin Smith has been open about his process when creating Tusk from the 'true story'. After he discovers that the man has died by suicide, presumably because of the ridicule, he finds a flyer posted by an old man who seems like he would be perfect for the podcast.Ĭonsidering the major differences between Parkinson’s fake ad and the film, it may be difficult to imagine how the former inspired the latter. For an interview with a teenager who mistakenly cut off his own leg, Wallace has to go to the outskirts of Manitoba, Canada. In Tusk, Los Angeles podcaster Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) and his co-host, Teddy (Haley Joel Osment), ridicule unfortunate people in viral videos, and Wallace interviews them. Kevin Smith created every detail beyond the premise for Tusk.

Chris Parkinson, who made the original Tusk advertisement, didn't even post the note as himself, and definitely didn't plan to turn a human being into a walrus. However, the characters of Wallace, Teddy, and importantly Howard Howe were all made up. The advertisement for a voluntary live-in walrus did exist, so Tusk isn't being false with its claims of being based on real events. Rather, Tusk is the exploration of what would have happened if a joke were real, and what circumstances would need to fall into place for it to plausibly happen. Tusk is based on a true story, but the story it's based on isn't the same one the movie tells.

The act based on a true story