In the film, soon-to-be "Dr. Dunc"'s Ph.D. defense was not staged - documentary crew was permitted by Duncan's defense committee to film his actual oral presentation, and were also there to capture the verdict in real time.
At one point in the film, two segments (one with Duncan's cat Oscar on his lap just prior to an arm tic, and one after the cat had exited the scene) were edited together in a way that in hindsight makes it appear as though the cat had been the unfortunate victim of Tourette's. It should be known that No Cats Were Harmed In The Making Of This Film.
As mentioned in the film, Duncan was conducting many presentations around the country even before becoming, 'Dr. Dunc'. In fact, it was at one of these presentations - conducted at Bloorview-MacMillan Children's Centre (now Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital) where Duncan was originally approached by the sister of (eventual) director Cindy Bisaillon to gauge his interest in having a documentary made about his life.
Life's a Twitch! was possible thanks to assistance from the 'Al Waxman Documentary Calling Card Program', an initiative of the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Director Cindy Bisaillon was awarded funding after submitting a five-minute clip of Duncan speaking to youth with Tourette Syndrome (TS).
During the end-credits, Duncan's demonic-sounding laugh was actually a snippet of Duncan imitating The Big Bopper's laugh in the hit song, "Chantilly Lace", to which Duncan was singing along while driving.