That Thing You Do!
Short description
That Thing You Do! follows a small-town Pennsylvania band in the mid-1960s whose fortunes change after a fill-in drummer helps them win a local talent contest. Guy Patterson, who works in his father's appliance store but dreams of playing drums, steps in when the group loses its regular player, and the new rhythm he brings to one particular song turns the four young musicians into sudden stars. Signed by a record label and marketed as The Wonders, they ride a hit single up the charts, while their manager steers them through the machinery of fame. Success soon tests the friendships, judgment and resilience of young men who are not prepared for what comes with money and attention.
The film is Tom Hanks's feature directing debut, from his own screenplay, and the first of the two features he has directed, followed years later by Larry Crowne. Hanks also appears in the cast as Mr. White, alongside Tom Everett Scott as Guy, Liv Tyler as Faye Dolan, Johnathon Schaech and Steve Zahn as band members, and Ethan Embry. Production involved 20th Century Fox with Clinica Estetico and Clavius Base, and the credited crew numbered over a hundred.
Made for about 26 million dollars, it returned roughly 35 million worldwide, a modest theatrical result. Audiences have been warmer over time: on IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 78,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.9 from far fewer. A critics' rating of 7.4 from 60 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The actors playing members of The Wonders rehearsed for eight weeks before filming, but for the most part, they were dubbed by professional musicians during production.
- According to director and screenwriter Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, who played Tina, was the first to screen test and be cast in the role.
- According to Tom Hanks, he began writing the film's screenplay out of boredom during the promotional tour for Robert Zemeckis's drama 'Forrest Gump' (1994).
- In one episode, a cinema marquee advertises a performance by the group Marilyn Lovell & The Geminis. This is a reference to the name of the wife of astronaut Jim Lovell, played by Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's adventure drama 'Apollo 13' (1995), as well as to the corresponding NASA program.
- Tom Everett Scott's first screen appearance. Director and screenwriter Tom Hanks was initially against casting Scott, feeling that Scott looked too much like his younger self. However, his wife, Rita Wilson, convinced him to cast Scott in the role.
- The extended version of the film, released on two DVDs in 2007, includes a scene that was not in the theatrical release. In it, Tom Everett Scott's character arrives at a hotel while intoxicated, where he learns that The Wonders are scheduled for a television appearance the very next day.
- While the film was being made, the then-governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge, visited the set and gave Tom Hanks a Zippo lighter featuring the movie's logo. Hanks collects Zippos, which are manufactured in Pennsylvania.
- Director and screenwriter Tom Hanks named his production company Play-Tone after the fictional record company from this film.
- Director and screenwriter Tom Hanks named the band performing on the beach 'Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters' after two seafood restaurants in South Carolina, where many scenes of Robert Zemeckis's drama 'Forrest Gump' (1994) were filmed.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
