Claim: The Great Buck Howard is a work.

The Great Buck Howard is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Sean McGinly that stars Colin Hanks and John Malkovich . Tom Hanks also appears as the father of his real-life son 's character . The character Buck Howard is inspired by the mentalist The Amazing Kreskin , whose popularity was at its height in the 1970s . The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on January 18 , 2008 . It is the first Walden Media film to be distributed by Magnolia Pictures .