Trivia / Tusk (2014)

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Johnny Depp, who was burned out on shooting Hollywood blockbusters and was itching to do something small and quirky, absolutely loved playing Guy LaPointe. Several of the character's quirks, such as his accent and phallic-looking nose, were Depp's ideas, and he'd frequently call Kevin Smith up late at night during production to have full conversations with him in-character. Smith referred to it as the Spiritual Antithesis of his experience with Bruce Willis on Cop Out.
• California Doubling: Charlotte, North Carolina doubles for Manitoba, a rare reversal of Canada doubling for American locales.
• Doing It for the Art: Kevin Smith openly referred to this movie as "masturbatory," in that he genuinely didn't care whether or not anyone would enjoy or even see it. He just wanted to see what a movie with such a strange premise would look like.
• Fake Nationality: American actors Michael Parks and Johnny Depp portray Canadians Howard Howe and Guy LaPointe, respectively, and both Smith's and Depp's daughters are Americans portraying Canadian characters as well.
• Follow the Leader: Kevin Smith himself described it as "a cuddly version of The Human Centipede."
  • However, whilst this is considerably Lighter and Softer, with the comedic elements, the body horror isn't remotely cuddly — it's actually worse.
  • On the other hand, while the film has a reputation for being truly disturbing, it's far more watchable than The Human Centipede.
• One-Take Wonder: According to Kevin Smith, Johnny Depp never learned his character's opening monologue because a misprint in his script gave him the impression he'd be delivering that monologue off-screen (meaning they could just ADR it in later). Undeterred, Depp grabbed the script and memorized the scene in five minutes flat. What you see in the final movie is the first take.
• Real-Life Relative: Kevin Smith's daughter Harley Quinn and Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose play the clerks at the convenience store.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The part of Guy LaPointe was written for Quentin Tarantino. According to Kevin, Tarantino originally said that he had no interest in acting right at the moment, but later came back and said he thought he was being offered the part of Wallace.
  • There was originally only one Coleen. Lily-Rose Depp was originally not going to be in it but was on set, and Smith thought it would be cool to throw her into the scene with Harley since the two were friends in real life.

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