Kevin Smith debuts his creepy, campy “mash note” to Canada at TIFF’s Midnight Madness
Kevin Smith debuts his creepy, campy “mash note” to Canada at TIFF’s Midnight Madness
By Chris Hampton | September 7, 2014
By Chris Hampton | 09/07/2014
(Image: Kayla Rocca)
If the TIFF slogan “This is your film festival” has been thrown into question in the last few years—what with the bash becoming noticeably more corporate and industry-serving—the Midnight Madness program stands out as something that’s totally for fans. Case in point: at the red carpet premiere for Kevin Smith ’s Tusk late Saturday evening, Justin Long didn’t retreat inside Ryerson Theatre until literally every single person waving some kind of signable had received his autograph (and considering those giveaway paper masks everyone was handed in line, there was plenty to sign).
In Smith’s creepy, campy horror, Long plays a podcaster in search of a good story who gets taken hostage in the backwoods of Manitoba and slowly transformed into a walrus by his captor. Kitschy marine-mammal hook aside, Smith says the film is his love letter to Canada—”my MASH note about the girl next door.” You should be warned that “aboots” are sprinkled liberally throughout the film, but they’re all in good jest. Haley Joel Osment appeared on the carpet alongside co-star Genesis Rodriguez (they both appear in Smith’s next project, too). We were pleased to see that Osment has turned himself into a scruffy-faced sweetheart of a dude, and even more pleased with his resolve—no matter how many times the TV guy standing next to us asked him to do it, he would not say “I see dead people.”
289898 Kevin Smith, in uniform. (Image: Kayla Rocca) TIFF 2014 Red Carpet: Tusk https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-2-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-2.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-2.jpg 1000 667 {"aperture":4.5,"credit":"Wade Hudson","camera":"Canon EOS 6D","created_timestamp":1410065423,"focal_length":"28","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.0125"} https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-2-2/ krocca_tusk-2-2 0 0
(Image: Kayla Rocca)
289899 This probably has something to do with beavers. (No, wait—walruses.) That's producer Sam Englebardt on Smith's left, and producer David S. Greathouse and actor Michael Parks on his right. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-4-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-4.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-4.jpg 1000 667 {"aperture":4.5,"credit":"Wade Hudson","camera":"Canon EOS 6D","created_timestamp":1410065338,"focal_length":"60","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.0125"} https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-2-4/ krocca_tusk-2-4 0 0
289900 Scruffy-faced sweetheart Haley Joel Osment. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-5-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-5.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-5.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-2-5/ krocca_tusk-2-5 0 0
289903 Actor Justin Long. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6028-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6028.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6028.jpg 1000 667 {"aperture":2.8,"credit":"Wade Hudson","camera":"Canon EOS 6D","created_timestamp":1410064420,"focal_length":"50","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.0055555555555556"} https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-6028/ krocca_tusk-6028 0 0
289912 Actress Genesis Rodriguez. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-61-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-61.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-2-61.jpg 667 1000 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-2-6-2/ krocca_tusk-2-6-2 0 0
289913 Actress Amanda Seyfried, of <em>Mean Girls</em> and <em>Les Miserables</em> fame. She's in town promoting <em>While We're Young</em> with Naomi Watts. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-59631-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-59631.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-59631.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-5963-2/ krocca_tusk-5963-2 0 0
289904 Here's Haley Joel again. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6122-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6122.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6122.jpg 1000 667 {"aperture":2.8,"credit":"Wade Hudson","camera":"Canon EOS 6D","created_timestamp":1410064517,"focal_length":"50","iso":"320","shutter_speed":"0.004"} https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-6122/ krocca_tusk-6122 0 0
289905 Classic. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6273-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6273.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6273.jpg 667 1000 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-6273/ krocca_tusk-6273 0 0
289906 Associate producer Jason Mewes. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6293-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6293.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6293.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-6293/ krocca_tusk-6293 0 0
289907 Startled Long. https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6359-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6359.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KRocca_Tusk-6359.jpg 1000 667 {"aperture":3.2,"credit":"Wade Hudson","camera":"Canon EOS 6D","created_timestamp":1410066033,"focal_length":"140","iso":"4000","shutter_speed":"0.01"} https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-tusk/slide/krocca_tusk-6359/ krocca_tusk-6359 0 0