# That Thing You Do!

An episode of [And That's What You REALLY Missed](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1645980188), 26 Jan 2026, 38 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/67adaf3b-fc3c-4c67-9613-af12015fa842/eb73926b-b69c-4303-ad3d-b3dd01100444/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=d5f905ac-eb40-4fc6-9d03-af120160041a

Jenna & Kevin revisit what they believe is a perfect movie, Tom Hanks’ directorial and writing debut, That Thing You Do! They share their own stories of meeting Tom Hanks (and why you SHOULD meet your heroes), including the moment when Tom & Rita told Lea Michele she was “robbed” at the Golden Globes. Plus, they gush over the cast, the music, Liv Tyler’s performance, develop a crush on Tom Everett Scott, and debate why this movie has never become a stage musical. For fun, exclusive content, and behind-the-scenes clips, follow us on Instagram @andthatswhatyoureallymissedpod & TikTok @thatswhatyoureallymissed! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: And that's what you really missed with Jenna.
[0:04] Speaker 2: And Kevin An. iHeartRadio podcast.
[0:08] Speaker 1: Welcome to you, and that's what you really miss podcast.
[0:12] Speaker 1: I am so excited for today's film that thing you do.
[0:22] Speaker 1: Before we get into this, Kevin, I need to have
[0:24] Speaker 1: just a conversation about Tom Hanks for a second.
[0:26] Speaker 2: Oh please.
[0:30] Speaker 1: They say don't meet your heroes, they are wrong.
[0:35] Speaker 2: The only exception by Paramore was written about meeting Tom Hanks.
[0:41] Speaker 1: I met Tom Hanks and I was I don't usually
[0:45] Speaker 1: get starstruck by a lot of people. I actually get
[0:48] Speaker 1: more starstruck for my brother, who like freaks out about
[0:52] Speaker 1: the people I meet, which I love so like, but
[0:54] Speaker 1: this one was like very personal and deeply meaningful for
[0:58] Speaker 1: me to meet Tom Hanks.
[1:01] Speaker 2: The funny you meet him?
[1:02] Speaker 1: So I met him at Jeff Franklin's house, who was
[1:05] Speaker 1: the creator of Full House. Yes, obviously after the Staymo's
[1:08] Speaker 1: story which I'm sure you guys have heard before, where
[1:11] Speaker 1: Stamos invited us over to go watch his episode of
[1:15] Speaker 1: Glee Brittany, and we went to Jeff Franklins house. Jeff
[1:18] Speaker 1: Franklin continued to invite us over and stays and you
[1:22] Speaker 1: know everybody stayed friends. So I went over there one night,
[1:25] Speaker 1: and you feel like you were there.
[1:27] Speaker 2: I wasn't, because I got invited over every time you
[1:31] Speaker 2: got invited, but I could never go. For some reason,
[1:34] Speaker 2: I could never go.
[1:36] Speaker 1: And this time Tom Hanks was there, and I walk
[1:41] Speaker 1: into the living room and like, there's always some you know,
[1:43] Speaker 1: fancy fun people there. Obviously, Jeff is very tapped into
[1:47] Speaker 1: the industry and he's a very kind person. And so
[1:51] Speaker 1: we got there and Tom was there, and we were
[1:55] Speaker 1: like one of the only few in the very large
[1:57] Speaker 1: living room at that point in time, and so I
[2:01] Speaker 1: had no intention of speaking to him, but of course,
[2:04] Speaker 1: like he's like, hey, how you doing in like full
[2:08] Speaker 1: woody voice.
[2:10] Speaker 2: That's the thing, his voice.
[2:11] Speaker 1: You can't you can't detach the two. So I'm thinking,
[2:15] Speaker 1: like Will said and Woody and like run Forest, run
[2:20] Speaker 1: all the sums time. And I'm really just very moved
[2:24] Speaker 1: by this moment. And I you know, we just chatted
[2:27] Speaker 1: for a second. I'm like, how you doing. He's like good, good.
[2:30] Speaker 1: We were looking at the aquarium that Jeff has on
[2:32] Speaker 1: the wall, and he's like, so what do you do?
[2:39] Speaker 2: Oh God?
[2:40] Speaker 1: As always, You're like, well, I was on a show
[2:42] Speaker 1: called Glee. You may have heard of it. He's like, oh, yeah, yeah.
[2:46] Speaker 2: It's great. He watched Glee. Do you remember at the
[2:51] Speaker 2: Golden Globes he and Rita Wilson went up to Leah
[2:54] Speaker 2: after she lost and said, you were robbed?
[2:59] Speaker 1: What I'm life complute, Yeah, your dreams come true? Life
[3:03] Speaker 1: complete bucket list check.
[3:06] Speaker 2: Because then we were all like, wait, they what.
[3:10] Speaker 1: It's beyond? I mean, I just I just really love
[3:15] Speaker 1: his body of work. I like that he's a nice person.
[3:19] Speaker 1: I appreciate that people speak of him highly. He's very engaged.
[3:24] Speaker 1: She's you know, he seems like just a human who
[3:27] Speaker 1: speaks the way he would speak normally, like not media trained,
[3:31] Speaker 1: et cetera. Just like it just was the whole thing
[3:34] Speaker 1: makes me really brings me a lot of joy. So
[3:36] Speaker 1: when that thing you do came out, I was like,
[3:41] Speaker 1: I feel like, I don't know that I knew that
[3:43] Speaker 1: Tom Hanks this was Tom Hanks film, Like I knew
[3:45] Speaker 1: he was in it, but I don't know that I
[3:47] Speaker 1: knew it's his directorial and writing debut. If it is. Anyway,
[3:54] Speaker 1: what are you What are your feelings on Tom Hanks
[3:56] Speaker 1: and did you meet him at the Globes was that
[3:57] Speaker 1: the one time you met him?
[3:58] Speaker 2: No, I didn't meet him there. I saw him, you know.
[4:02] Speaker 2: I was at the table next to Leah, so I
[4:04] Speaker 2: saw him. I met him at some like random event.
[4:11] Speaker 2: I don't even know where it was. It was on
[4:12] Speaker 2: some studio a lot. He was driving some really strange
[4:16] Speaker 2: I think electric car like I had never seen before.
[4:20] Speaker 1: I mean this must have been earlier too, when like
[4:22] Speaker 1: electric cars weren't all the right.
[4:25] Speaker 2: And it looked like a box and it was like
[4:28] Speaker 2: parked next to the stage. I was like, oh he
[4:30] Speaker 2: got to like drive on to the stage and and
[4:33] Speaker 2: like we were out by his car or something, and
[4:35] Speaker 2: he was just like came over and like talk to us.
[4:37] Speaker 2: I don't know who I was with.
[4:39] Speaker 1: I like coord knows him.
[4:41] Speaker 2: Probably everybody.
[4:43] Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
[4:45] Speaker 2: I don't know. Just yeah, he was very, very nice.
[4:48] Speaker 2: And it's just it is something about his voice. His
[4:51] Speaker 2: voice is so specific and like we obviously grew up
[4:54] Speaker 2: with it, and like you hearing him just speak or
[4:59] Speaker 2: say hello, I was like, this is crazy.
[5:02] Speaker 1: No, I know, I'm just not okay.
[5:06] Speaker 2: I just love that, Like this that thing you do
[5:08] Speaker 2: feels like Tom Hanks in a.
[5:11] Speaker 1: Movie form yes, that's exactly right, Like that's what it
[5:14] Speaker 1: feels like, that's exactly right. Let's get into it. So
[5:17] Speaker 1: in the news, That Thing You Do premiered on October fourth,
[5:21] Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six, and the number one song was the Macarena.
[5:28] Speaker 2: Can I say this is the best year a number
[5:31] Speaker 2: one movie that we have done so far?
[5:33] Speaker 1: Tell me what the number one movie is?
[5:35] Speaker 2: The First Wives Club? What a time like?
[5:38] Speaker 1: Can you imagine First Wives Club? Makarin? That Thing You
[5:43] Speaker 1: Do premiering in box offices nineteen ninety six was actually
[5:46] Speaker 1: a really good year for me.
[5:49] Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean Spice Girls I was ten were coming
[5:51] Speaker 2: out like I was eight.
[5:54] Speaker 1: I was in the King and I am Broadway at
[5:55] Speaker 1: the time. Oh my god, it was crazy the year
[6:00] Speaker 1: for Little Jenna.
[6:02] Speaker 2: I mean, it's the best year. That's Moore set, Smashing Pumpkinska.
[6:05] Speaker 1: Yeah, what else is going on? Okay, so we've got killed?
[6:08] Speaker 2: Oh gosh.
[6:12] Speaker 1: Pop groups like the Backshi Boys were gaining international momentum.
[6:15] Speaker 2: Because ninety seven, like was the year? Yes, yeah, like
[6:18] Speaker 2: ninety seven it was full Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys groups.
[6:23] Speaker 1: It was Did Britney Spears come out in No no, No?
[6:27] Speaker 1: She came out later and it was later. Yeah, it
[6:30] Speaker 1: was later because it was like it was like the
[6:34] Speaker 1: boy and girl groups were rising, and then this like
[6:39] Speaker 1: individual performer came out and you were like, what's this?
[6:42] Speaker 2: Oh miseducation of Lauren Hill came out, so we're like, right, yeah,
[6:49] Speaker 2: it's all simmering.
[6:50] Speaker 1: And then television was also divined by sharp humor and
[6:53] Speaker 1: cultural dominance, with Friends in peak popularity, Seinfeld nearing the
[6:59] Speaker 1: end of its er remain the most watched drama on television.
[7:04] Speaker 1: X Files was fueling conspiracy driven pop culture.
[7:09] Speaker 2: Oh movies. You had Independence Day Twister, Mission Impossible, Like
[7:13] Speaker 2: Jerry McGuire was about to come out like are you
[7:15] Speaker 2: kidding me?
[7:16] Speaker 1: Does everybody feel like this? Are just like people who
[7:19] Speaker 1: like were in it? Because this is like it for
[7:22] Speaker 1: me this time? Is it for me? Like I go
[7:25] Speaker 1: back and watch Independence Day Twister all the time? Like
[7:30] Speaker 1: that thing you do? Is it just us millennials?
[7:35] Speaker 2: Maybe?
[7:36] Speaker 1: But it was like Jaren McGuire a rich.
[7:41] Speaker 2: But like here's the thing, like X Files is being
[7:43] Speaker 2: rebooted by Ryan Coogler right now you have the pit
[7:47] Speaker 2: that is huge right now, which is sort of a
[7:49] Speaker 2: derivative of er. Yeah, actually, boys are back we're at
[7:53] Speaker 2: the sphere. Yeah. Yeah, they've redone Independence Day, they've met
[7:57] Speaker 2: Glen missions Will still had another one come out in
[8:01] Speaker 2: the past year. Damn like fruitful. So okay. That Thing
[8:15] Speaker 2: You Do, written and directed by Tom Hanks, like we said,
[8:17] Speaker 2: is debut directorial and writing debut. The music obviously is
[8:23] Speaker 2: a gigantic, gigantic part of this movie.
[8:26] Speaker 1: It is the movie. Yes, it is the movie. Adam
[8:30] Speaker 1: Schlessinger tounas of Wayne. He wrote the title song That
[8:34] Speaker 1: Thing You Do. It became the fictional band's hit and
[8:39] Speaker 1: a real world success, obviously, and this is the song
[8:43] Speaker 1: that obviously defines the movie. And then Mike Viola, who
[8:48] Speaker 1: he contributed songs, and then he did the lead vocal
[8:50] Speaker 1: for the oneiters Jimmy for Jimmy's voice, and he can
[8:56] Speaker 1: be heard in the film.
[8:59] Speaker 2: Scott Rogness and Rick Elias. I'm sure I'm butchering these names.
[9:04] Speaker 2: I'm so sorry, sirs if i am. But they wrote
[9:08] Speaker 2: additional songs that were used throughout the movie to build
[9:11] Speaker 2: out the nineteen sixties pop world.
[9:14] Speaker 1: Okay, and then Tom Hanks wrote Loving You Lots and Lots,
[9:17] Speaker 1: the opening credits song in the film to the fictional
[9:21] Speaker 1: Norm Wooster singers, and he also contributed musical ideas, obviously,
[9:26] Speaker 1: including Guys Jazzy Jumpies, which I love. Wow.
[9:30] Speaker 2: Howard Shore composed the film's score, providing the instrumental music
[9:33] Speaker 2: underscoring the story. Oh my god, the choreography, Jimma is
[9:41] Speaker 2: Tony Basil.
[9:43] Speaker 1: I had no idea.
[9:47] Speaker 2: I wanted to point out how good the choreography was.
[9:50] Speaker 2: I'm not making this up now saying that it was
[9:51] Speaker 2: Tony Basil, because I thought the choreography was phenomenal, like
[9:58] Speaker 2: just absolutely excellent.
[10:02] Speaker 1: I mean, you are correct, you are correct. Wow Wow,
[10:09] Speaker 1: what a group? What a group? Believe it or not.
[10:14] Speaker 1: There are a lot of songs in this film, but
[10:18] Speaker 1: I only hear one.
[10:21] Speaker 2: Correct. What's really sad is like I want a full
[10:26] Speaker 2: Wonders album.
[10:26] Speaker 1: Yes, yes, yes, we never got it. You never got
[10:29] Speaker 1: the thing you do all my only dreams. Dance with
[10:32] Speaker 1: me tonight, A little wild one? Althose are all by
[10:35] Speaker 1: the Wonders. We've got some of the other bands and
[10:40] Speaker 1: artists within the film. Del Paxton timed below.
[10:47] Speaker 2: Also, this cast is stacked like there's so many little
[10:52] Speaker 2: like Charlie, Yeah, okay, what are we doing? There's Rita Wilson,
[11:01] Speaker 2: Chris Isaac, Kevin Pollock, Paul figue is in there. I
[11:09] Speaker 2: saw Colin Hanks, Brian Cranston. Yes, it's really really wild.
[11:16] Speaker 1: Everybody rita of course? Wow?
[11:20] Speaker 2: Yeah? Did you see Colin Hanks? He was with Tyler's escort.
[11:26] Speaker 1: They looked so I couldn't take my eyes off there.
[11:29] Speaker 1: Can we talk about Live Tyler's face in this and
[11:34] Speaker 1: then into Armageddon Lives run Free?
[11:38] Speaker 2: In my mind, I just think Austin was like I
[11:42] Speaker 2: think she may be the most beautiful woman.
[11:44] Speaker 1: I've ever I have to agree, and almost beautiful white woman,
[11:49] Speaker 1: and then also delivering the lines in that scene that
[11:54] Speaker 1: she does.
[11:55] Speaker 2: Can I be honest with you what because growing up,
[12:00] Speaker 2: obviously she was in so many things right, and I
[12:02] Speaker 2: wasn't sitting there like judging people's performances. So like, in
[12:05] Speaker 2: my head, I don't have, like, I guess, like a
[12:09] Speaker 2: take on whether or not I think Live Tyler is good,
[12:12] Speaker 2: you know what I mean? Like, I just remember she
[12:14] Speaker 2: was always in so many things that I liked totally,
[12:17] Speaker 2: and watching her in this liv Tyler is incredible.
[12:22] Speaker 1: I watch arm again in like she the lines that
[12:29] Speaker 1: she gives in that breakup scene.
[12:31] Speaker 2: Did she get enough credit? Does she get enough credit
[12:34] Speaker 2: as an actor? Because I don't know. She worked a
[12:38] Speaker 2: lot and I know she was popular, and it was
[12:40] Speaker 2: like she's a cool girl. She's obviously beautiful, but like
[12:44] Speaker 2: she's really good.
[12:46] Speaker 1: No, no, she's really good. I think she does. Okay,
[12:51] Speaker 1: I think she does. I think if you know, you know, okay,
[12:56] Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like maybe not as external
[13:00] Speaker 1: as you might hope, but like if you know, you know.
[13:03] Speaker 2: Yeah, and maybe she doesn't care, but like I just
[13:05] Speaker 2: want to yeah, I need.
[13:08] Speaker 1: Yeah.
[13:09] Speaker 2: You know. There were moments in this movie and I
[13:12] Speaker 2: think about a lot of these lines where if they
[13:18] Speaker 2: were not handled with as much talent and care.
[13:21] Speaker 1: Yes, could have come off very wrong.
[13:23] Speaker 2: Well, I was thinking about, you know, like I'm getting
[13:25] Speaker 2: ahead of myself here, but go ahead. You know at
[13:29] Speaker 2: the end of the movie when Tom Hanks is talking
[13:33] Speaker 2: to Tom Everett's character Guy about like, you know, I
[13:40] Speaker 2: always thought you were the smart one or whatever, and
[13:43] Speaker 2: I was like, this scene could have been that character
[13:47] Speaker 2: could have been so douchey and like the typical record
[13:50] Speaker 2: exec guy who's like saying all this stuff. Because it's
[13:53] Speaker 2: Tom so.
[13:53] Speaker 1: Smart, it's so smart. It's so good.
[13:58] Speaker 2: Anyway, okay, Oh, for those of you who do not
[14:00] Speaker 2: know this movie, The Wonders embark on across country journey
[14:05] Speaker 2: when their hit song rockets to the top of the charts.
[14:07] Speaker 2: Traveling from spaghetti joints of state fairs, they land a
[14:10] Speaker 2: record deal, a manager, and an extraordinary look at the
[14:13] Speaker 2: halcyon days of rock and roll. It's about a fictional
[14:16] Speaker 2: band like these friends who accidentally become really successful, and
[14:26] Speaker 2: it's a really good, I think, study on what fame
[14:28] Speaker 2: does to yes, overnight success does to people, because each
[14:32] Speaker 2: person in the band sort of has a completely different
[14:34] Speaker 2: reaction to.
[14:35] Speaker 1: Success totally and specifically. Tom Hanks felt like he needed
[14:41] Speaker 1: to write this story. So for him, I read that
[14:44] Speaker 1: the brief rise and disappearance became a haunting question of fame. Right,
[14:50] Speaker 1: So what happens to someone who tastes greatness for just
[14:54] Speaker 1: a moment? The idea that fleeting fame, sudden opportunity, and
[14:59] Speaker 1: the emotional whiplash that follows became the emotional foundation of
[15:03] Speaker 1: that thing you do.
[15:06] Speaker 2: The Beatles were obviously a big influence in this, and
[15:10] Speaker 2: he remembers Tomigs said he remembers the Beatles on their
[15:14] Speaker 2: American debut on the Ed Sullivan show, coming months after
[15:19] Speaker 2: the jfk assassination, and he remembers the world feeling dark,
[15:23] Speaker 2: gray and lonely, and the music felt like an emotional
[15:26] Speaker 2: counterweight to all of that, and so he talks about
[15:29] Speaker 2: there there's one Beatles story that sayed with him. During
[15:31] Speaker 2: the band's nineteen sixty four world tour, Ringo Star Wars
[15:34] Speaker 2: hospitalized with tonsilitis, forcing the group's temporarily replaced the Englis
[15:37] Speaker 2: strummer with Jimmy Nickel for eight shows, and Nicol experienced
[15:41] Speaker 2: overnight fame toward the world the biggest band on the planet,
[15:44] Speaker 2: and then was abruptly returned to obscurity once staring.
[15:47] Speaker 1: Oh so interesting.
[15:48] Speaker 2: Yeah, And so I love that, Like that's what sort
[15:52] Speaker 2: of took the song because it avoids a lot of
[15:58] Speaker 2: cliches and stereotypes when it came to this sort of
[16:01] Speaker 2: thing and gives like a really real, I think, answer
[16:05] Speaker 2: to a lot of those questions posed.
[16:09] Speaker 1: There's also nobody better to write a script like this
[16:12] Speaker 1: than somebody who is in the public eye, who has
[16:15] Speaker 1: received fame maybe is not overnight and not fleeting, but
[16:19] Speaker 1: definitely has seen a lot of that right in his
[16:22] Speaker 1: day and from a very unique standpoint. He wrote this
[16:27] Speaker 1: while he was promoting Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, and he
[16:33] Speaker 1: deliberately wanted to occupy his mind with something unrelated to awards,
[16:37] Speaker 1: press or box office expectation, ironically in his fame, wanting
[16:44] Speaker 1: to escape and think about other people's fame.
[16:47] Speaker 2: Yeah, and oh my god, this also makes sense. Throughout
[16:51] Speaker 2: the process, he frequently sent drafts in our Efron, a
[16:56] Speaker 2: trusted collaborator who came unfiltered feedback. Efron fam told him
[17:00] Speaker 2: that his early drafts were overloaded with characters and scenes,
[17:05] Speaker 2: joking that it felt like Scorsese run Amook. That critique
[17:08] Speaker 2: forced Hanks to learn narrative discipline and sharpen the story's focus.
[17:14] Speaker 2: And then the producer Jonathan Demi, who had previously worked
[17:17] Speaker 2: with Hanks on Philadelphia, strongly believed Hanks was meant to direct,
[17:21] Speaker 2: and Demi encourage him not only to take a leap
[17:23] Speaker 2: into directing, but also to form a long term creative
[17:26] Speaker 2: partnership with Gary Getzman, which would later become Playtone.
[17:30] Speaker 1: Just it's actually an American film and television production company.
[17:37] Speaker 2: Yeah, so then he Yeah, he named his own production
[17:40] Speaker 2: company after the record label and with Gary.
[17:42] Speaker 1: Yes, oh, I thought it was a music label.
[17:46] Speaker 2: Okay, got it, and he just took the name.
[17:47] Speaker 1: Yeah, he also launched a successful record label after its
[17:50] Speaker 1: fictional counterpart in Hanks's film. They have a long standing
[17:53] Speaker 1: relationship with HBO and Wow. Okay.
[17:58] Speaker 2: Anyways, so when you have incredible collaborators like that you
[18:05] Speaker 2: can send drafts to or Efron, it all makes sense. Yeah,
[18:10] Speaker 2: this movie is how we feel about it, which is
[18:14] Speaker 2: it's a perfect movie.
[18:16] Speaker 1: Perfect.
[18:17] Speaker 2: The pacing is great. Nothing is overloaded, nothing gets two
[18:21] Speaker 2: in the weeds about anything.
[18:23] Speaker 1: Characters are developed like, relationships are clear, nothing is forced, no,
[18:29] Speaker 1: very grounded, very simple, Like I think the thing that
[18:32] Speaker 1: makes me come back to that thing you do all
[18:34] Speaker 1: the time, and I watch this often. We put it
[18:38] Speaker 1: on because it's just like a few it's one of
[18:40] Speaker 1: your you know, my feel good movies, right, you put
[18:42] Speaker 1: it on. It's familiar. But there's something about the world
[18:45] Speaker 1: that is so clear and you drop into like a
[18:48] Speaker 1: different universe, right with these friends. There's like this this
[18:54] Speaker 1: simplicity to what is in this film. Like I know
[18:59] Speaker 1: when the scenes are coming and I know what they're about,
[19:03] Speaker 1: and I think that's the writing, right, Like that's the
[19:05] Speaker 1: direction of the writing. And where we're going, where we're headed,
[19:09] Speaker 1: like and the look of it is it matches the
[19:12] Speaker 1: simplicity of it. It's like big and colorful yet like
[19:17] Speaker 1: the big blocks of like color that used to see
[19:19] Speaker 1: on TV in that time. The signs are huge in
[19:23] Speaker 1: the on the streets. Everything is like spelled out for you,
[19:27] Speaker 1: and like you just feel very safe.
[19:30] Speaker 2: It feels like the world that like Simechis is known, you.
[19:34] Speaker 1: Know, like yes, yes, Toms.
[19:36] Speaker 2: And Robert Simchis movies, like.
[19:38] Speaker 3: Totally it's very bigul you. It feels like a small
[19:42] Speaker 3: version of that, which yeah, makes so much sense. But
[19:45] Speaker 3: I'm like there is a lot of like backstory. It
[19:49] Speaker 3: was just so smart that like Tom Evertt Scott's character
[19:52] Speaker 3: just starts playing the drums during their very first performance
[19:54] Speaker 3: too fast, and then that is they don't belabor that
[19:58] Speaker 3: it's too fast for more than that performance, right yep,
[20:02] Speaker 3: And like then that is the tempo for the song
[20:04] Speaker 3: that we know and love for the rest of the film.
[20:06] Speaker 2: Like those little things are so nice because it's like
[20:11] Speaker 2: draws the audience in because we got to do a
[20:12] Speaker 2: little work. We gotta pay attention yep. And then but
[20:15] Speaker 2: it's also just like smooth transitions. Yes, we're not being
[20:18] Speaker 2: over the head with this, like, let's keep it moving.
[20:21] Speaker 2: It's not that serious exactly. No, it's not that serious.
[20:24] Speaker 2: You know what is serious finding the song Like this movie,
[20:32] Speaker 2: in my opinion, is nothing without the song.
[20:34] Speaker 1: I mean, now, I don't mean that in the sense
[20:37] Speaker 1: that like the talent and the writing and all the
[20:39] Speaker 1: good things that you are like it is it is
[20:43] Speaker 1: extremely essential that this song is beyond excellent, right and
[20:50] Speaker 1: as a really good hook, really nice to listen to,
[20:52] Speaker 1: that you can hear over and over again in the film,
[20:54] Speaker 1: and is a believable hit. Yes, that would actually take
[20:59] Speaker 1: them to the top of the chart.
[21:02] Speaker 2: Like, that's a hard, hard balance, yes, to find.
[21:08] Speaker 1: So obviously, licensing existing sixty songs was prohibitively expensive, so
[21:16] Speaker 1: the producers, obviously Tommy Garry, they decided to commission original
[21:19] Speaker 1: music instat.
[21:24] Speaker 2: Wow they got. So they sent out a large net
[21:26] Speaker 2: to the music industry, which resulted in more than three
[21:30] Speaker 2: hundred submissions, including songs from established bands like The Gin
[21:33] Speaker 2: Blossoms and They Might Be Giants. Songwriters were given minimal
[21:36] Speaker 2: direction beyond capturing the spirit of early Beatles and Beach
[21:39] Speaker 2: Boys records.
[21:39] Speaker 1: Wow, that is so generic. Obviously. The song that rose
[21:47] Speaker 1: above was Adam Slash Singer's and at the time he
[21:50] Speaker 1: was a relatively unknown songwriter. He had just signed his
[21:53] Speaker 1: first publishing deal with PolyGram. Isn't that great?
[21:55] Speaker 2: Pre Fountains of Wayne Stacy's Mom.
[21:58] Speaker 1: Yes, okay, this is interesting and fun. So Hanks evaluated
[22:03] Speaker 1: the song with a simple test, did you play five
[22:07] Speaker 1: times in your car? And when the answer was yes,
[22:09] Speaker 1: the decision was made.
[22:11] Speaker 2: I also love to When he found out it was
[22:15] Speaker 2: for Tom Hanks's movie, He's like, let me give this
[22:17] Speaker 2: some due diligence and spent some time really listening to
[22:21] Speaker 2: that era and did three versions of the song, and
[22:25] Speaker 2: then Mike Diola, who originally who did the vocals on
[22:27] Speaker 2: the finished song, immediately told him which song was the
[22:32] Speaker 2: strongest version.
[22:33] Speaker 1: And remember, do you do you? Are you somebody who
[22:37] Speaker 1: listens to songs over and over again if you like
[22:39] Speaker 1: them or I can't remember, or do you not listen
[22:41] Speaker 1: to them?
[22:42] Speaker 2: Not really like it's It's very rare for me to
[22:46] Speaker 2: just like loop it.
[22:47] Speaker 1: Yeah.
[22:47] Speaker 2: Yeah, are you a looper?
[22:49] Speaker 1: I used to be a looper, but only so I
[22:53] Speaker 1: could learn the song.
[22:55] Speaker 2: I think when it's songs like this, songs that are
[22:57] Speaker 2: short and are and are this catchy like there. To me,
[23:02] Speaker 2: it's like yeah, like it's like chocolate cake where you
[23:06] Speaker 2: just need another bite and because it's short enough where
[23:08] Speaker 2: like I didn't get enough of it, I.
[23:09] Speaker 1: Gotta go back it again. Yeah, there's a handful as
[23:12] Speaker 1: long as But I used to do that a lot,
[23:13] Speaker 1: like or like at least albums, I would go over
[23:15] Speaker 1: the whole thing. But I don't know, I don't know
[23:18] Speaker 1: if it's like the I don't know anyway, it's a
[23:21] Speaker 1: different time in my life. But this you can you're right,
[23:25] Speaker 1: short bites short.
[23:26] Speaker 2: Yeah, short bites. I mean so that thing you do
[23:28] Speaker 2: became an actual hit, charting on the Billboard Hot one
[23:32] Speaker 2: hundred and Adult Contemporary charts and earning an Oscar and
[23:36] Speaker 2: Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Wow Yeah. Singer
[23:40] Speaker 2: later joked he even was surprised by how often the
[23:43] Speaker 2: song appeared throughout the movie, admitting it eventually became uncomfortable
[23:47] Speaker 2: to hear it so many times.
[23:49] Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, I mean, it's a perfect no, it is,
[23:52] Speaker 4: it's a perfect a perfect film.
[23:54] Speaker 1: The it's crazy because the when the film released in nine,
[24:01] Speaker 1: it debuted very quietly, and it did not meet the
[24:03] Speaker 1: box office expectations despite very strong reviews, And so I
[24:08] Speaker 1: wonder if that was like a marketing thing or like
[24:11] Speaker 1: what what was a mix? Because it's so good, Like
[24:14] Speaker 1: I don't see how people could go into theaters and
[24:17] Speaker 1: not like this film, right or is it too easy?
[24:22] Speaker 1: Like I don't know, Like I'm glad it's become a
[24:27] Speaker 1: cult classic now.
[24:28] Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean if we look at the time,
[24:30] Speaker 2: like what was doing really well, like this is a
[24:32] Speaker 2: period piece, maybe that's hard. You have like the big
[24:36] Speaker 2: blockbusters that are doing really really well, right, I don't know,
[24:39] Speaker 2: I mean, and you have like four relatively unknown actors
[24:42] Speaker 2: playing the band mm hmmm, but I mean it is
[24:46] Speaker 2: just so solid. Speaking of the actors, I can't believe
[24:52] Speaker 2: Tom evert Scott had to learn how to play the
[24:53] Speaker 2: drums for this because it feels and looks even the
[24:56] Speaker 2: faces he's making so good. He's so good in this.
[25:02] Speaker 1: He is my he is the hero of this film.
[25:06] Speaker 2: I mean, he's so cute, so cute.
[25:09] Speaker 1: And he really is believable as a drummer, Like yes,
[25:13] Speaker 1: because he really does have to play and especially at
[25:15] Speaker 1: the end, like he really does have to the hotel.
[25:19] Speaker 2: I was like, oh, they luckily found somebody who, like you,
[25:22] Speaker 2: how to do this all musician. But I guess it
[25:25] Speaker 2: helps when you're only playing one song and so you have.
[25:28] Speaker 1: Time, Like they had two months to really become believable
[25:32] Speaker 1: in this. Yeah, I get that. I get that, But
[25:36] Speaker 1: they really did put them through like camp basically to
[25:40] Speaker 1: turn them into like a believable band. They all did,
[25:44] Speaker 1: you know, individual lessons and then like you said, but
[25:49] Speaker 1: then they also like rehearse together to just find that,
[25:53] Speaker 1: you know, the glue. I also appreciated that, like for Hank's,
[25:59] Speaker 1: it wasn't Hank's for Tom, it wasn't about the perfection
[26:06] Speaker 1: of the music and them getting like complete, like all right,
[26:09] Speaker 1: but like that, it was more about the joy, which
[26:12] Speaker 1: I think was so right right, Like if they didn't,
[26:15] Speaker 1: if they were so stuck on the perfection of like
[26:18] Speaker 1: the music, it doesn't you know, it wouldn't have read
[26:22] Speaker 1: the way it.
[26:22] Speaker 2: I feel like that sentiment though, is like brought to
[26:24] Speaker 2: every single scene because I felt so often, like you know,
[26:28] Speaker 2: when you hear their song on the radio for the
[26:30] Speaker 2: first time, which is such a.
[26:31] Speaker 1: Good scene, Oh oh so good.
[26:34] Speaker 2: But I was expecting you know the owner of the
[26:37] Speaker 2: store to be like all upset and like tell them
[26:41] Speaker 2: to shut up and get out of the store. Like
[26:42] Speaker 2: at every turn there are opportunities to fall into those things,
[26:45] Speaker 2: and they never did it, like they let the joy
[26:47] Speaker 2: win in every scene. Yes, And I just it was
[26:51] Speaker 2: just so pleasant to not have to like worry about
[26:55] Speaker 2: any of those things happening. When Tom Hanks came into
[26:57] Speaker 2: the picture or when that manager came into the picture,
[26:59] Speaker 2: I was like, oh no.
[27:00] Speaker 1: Yeah, here we go. Yeah yeah, yeah, no, No, it's
[27:02] Speaker 1: all good. I know, as many sense I've seen it,
[27:06] Speaker 1: they always come in and I'm like, they're gonna get
[27:08] Speaker 1: got because that's what you expect. That's what it's always been.
[27:12] Speaker 1: Kind of what you see in these films about music
[27:16] Speaker 1: is like the record label bad, the art is getting scammed,
[27:19] Speaker 1: you know, and to an extent, like there's you know,
[27:22] Speaker 1: some truth that people wouldn't have started writing about that,
[27:25] Speaker 1: right we know this, but like, yeah, what a nice
[27:29] Speaker 1: relief to see it's not actually about that at all.
[27:32] Speaker 1: It's more about the guys and how they handle this
[27:34] Speaker 1: and what they really want and did they want this
[27:37] Speaker 1: to begin with? Right?
[27:38] Speaker 2: Yes, it is interesting to see, you know, you have
[27:42] Speaker 2: like the Ethan Embry character who randomly scientific had Disneyland
[27:49] Speaker 2: just like but like, okay watching this, Jenna, how relatable
[27:58] Speaker 2: was watching people success and see their reactions of what
[28:02] Speaker 2: they cared about?
[28:03] Speaker 1: Yes?
[28:06] Speaker 2: Did this not feel like we were looking into him?
[28:12] Speaker 1: For sure?
[28:14] Speaker 2: Oh yeah?
[28:15] Speaker 1: This is this people a Disneyland.
[28:18] Speaker 2: It's so realistic though, because you have people who only
[28:21] Speaker 2: care about the art, like Jimmy. You have people like
[28:25] Speaker 2: guy who just like, this is a good time. I
[28:27] Speaker 2: just want to keep doing this. Yeah, yeah, and I
[28:29] Speaker 2: like the music, but I'm not a genius like Jimmy.
[28:31] Speaker 2: Or then you have people like Son likes you know,
[28:35] Speaker 2: seems On, who was like in it for the party
[28:39] Speaker 2: and the fame.
[28:39] Speaker 1: And friend, you know, his buddy's in there, and then
[28:42] Speaker 1: he falls in love and is like onto the next thing, right,
[28:45] Speaker 1: And you have.
[28:45] Speaker 2: The other guy who was like never really cared about
[28:49] Speaker 2: being there and like this was not part of his
[28:50] Speaker 2: life plan and is like gonna go do other things
[28:52] Speaker 2: he actually cares about, like go to Disneyland, or go
[28:55] Speaker 2: to do two tours in Vietnam.
[28:58] Speaker 1: TV player the player yes, m h yeah, off to
[29:04] Speaker 1: Disneyland he goes, Yeah, And it's such a there's a
[29:09] Speaker 1: way that Tom Hanks wrote this that is not so
[29:13] Speaker 1: in your face, like it's just for some reason, I
[29:19] Speaker 1: didn't feel like lectured by it or just like he
[29:22] Speaker 1: played it out for us and you're like, oh, here
[29:24] Speaker 1: it is where he drops it on you. But that
[29:26] Speaker 1: scene where he's like you're the smart one. I always
[29:28] Speaker 1: thought you were a smart one and he's like he's
[29:30] Speaker 1: the talent, right, Like there's something about that, like just
[29:34] Speaker 1: that brings the whole film together, like that scene but
[29:37] Speaker 1: isn't so obvious. Like I don't know if that was
[29:40] Speaker 1: the delivery or the writing or both, but it was
[29:43] Speaker 1: really well executed to a place where I didn't feel
[29:47] Speaker 1: like he ruined it.
[29:50] Speaker 2: Yeah, totally.
[29:52] Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know.
[29:53] Speaker 2: You know, the only part of the movie. There's two
[29:56] Speaker 2: things in parts of the movie. I didn't like.
[29:58] Speaker 1: Okay, tell me.
[29:59] Speaker 2: And they're at the end. Tell me when at the
[30:03] Speaker 2: end the guy looks into the camera.
[30:05] Speaker 1: He looks down the rails. It's giving POMPEII.
[30:09] Speaker 2: Yes, And I don't know. I don't I don't want it.
[30:12] Speaker 2: I don't like it.
[30:14] Speaker 1: I don't I don't get it. I don't like it.
[30:16] Speaker 1: I don't get it.
[30:18] Speaker 2: And then I don't like the fake stories for where
[30:22] Speaker 2: these people ended up. But if they were inspired very
[30:24] Speaker 2: real people, then fun yeah cool, I just don't know.
[30:28] Speaker 2: Fun fact, Jenna, do you know there's a director's cut
[30:29] Speaker 2: of this movie?
[30:31] Speaker 1: No?
[30:32] Speaker 2: And Tom makes character is gay?
[30:35] Speaker 4: What?
[30:36] Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess it's revealed. I have to look this
[30:38] Speaker 2: up after, but it's revealed, and like one of the
[30:41] Speaker 2: scenes that he's dating a man. There's also a lot
[30:44] Speaker 2: more scenes, but that I feel like is the that's
[30:47] Speaker 2: the most noteworthy.
[30:48] Speaker 1: Wait, I love that. I love that.
[30:52] Speaker 2: I think it was nice also to, like, especially in
[30:56] Speaker 2: this day and age, to reframe how we view like
[31:00] Speaker 2: a fame and success a little bit where this is
[31:06] Speaker 2: sort of what some of them wanted, happy accident for
[31:09] Speaker 2: others yep, and so like just because they didn't continue
[31:12] Speaker 2: with the band or like try to write off the
[31:16] Speaker 2: success doesn't mean they didn't have great lives.
[31:20] Speaker 1: Yes, yes, yes, And also like I think it's okay
[31:24] Speaker 1: to to want fame, like if you know what you're
[31:26] Speaker 1: asking for, but then to also realize you didn't want it. Yes, absolutely,
[31:31] Speaker 1: I think there's that too, But yes, I yes, fame
[31:34] Speaker 1: is not everything. I mean, we can't really raid performances,
[31:46] Speaker 1: because like there's really only one song, yeah You and
[31:52] Speaker 1: everything is the music really just uplifts the story.
[31:56] Speaker 2: I have a question why hasn't this become a stage musical?
[32:01] Speaker 2: So I did a little research. There's been talk about it.
[32:06] Speaker 2: I think Tom Hanks has thought about it.
[32:08] Speaker 1: I don't think there's enough music, and you'd have to
[32:10] Speaker 1: create new music, and then you're taking a big risk there,
[32:12] Speaker 1: which I don't mind. But like, I don't know, why
[32:15] Speaker 1: would you touch something if it's like it's kind of
[32:17] Speaker 1: like for me, I love the New Seast Broadway. Of
[32:20] Speaker 1: course we have lots of friends who were in it
[32:22] Speaker 1: and et cetera. But it's different than the film, like
[32:26] Speaker 1: the word, the lyrics are all different. It's not the
[32:29] Speaker 1: same music to me, and it ruins it for me.
[32:33] Speaker 2: Yeah, but you hear all these other songs in there, right,
[32:37] Speaker 2: like the B sides that Jimmy keeps talking about. Sure,
[32:40] Speaker 2: there's opportunities to show some of those. I think you
[32:43] Speaker 2: can add to it without taking anything away, okay, And
[32:47] Speaker 2: I feel like there's also room to explore some of
[32:49] Speaker 2: these relationships a little deeper.
[32:52] Speaker 1: You do risk going and I'm not saying you can't
[32:57] Speaker 1: execute this well, right, I'm not saying that you can't
[33:00] Speaker 1: risk in the sixties in this world going cheesy correct
[33:04] Speaker 1: and the cheesy will overtake the story and it screams
[33:10] Speaker 1: like hairspray to me, like it look feels like that's
[33:13] Speaker 1: the that's the jump, and I just can't see it now.
[33:19] Speaker 1: I'm I'd love to be proven wrong, but that's my
[33:23] Speaker 1: take on it is like you just air on like
[33:26] Speaker 1: everything feeling a little too but what.
[33:29] Speaker 2: If it looked a little more like stereophonic and less okay?
[33:31] Speaker 1: Fair enough? Yeah, see, I'm open to it. I'm open
[33:35] Speaker 1: to it. What happened with the musical though, yes, Hanks
[33:37] Speaker 1: didn't want.
[33:38] Speaker 2: To do it, I don't know.
[33:40] Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if it came back.
[33:43] Speaker 2: I mean, so, like, you know, there's threadit boards and
[33:47] Speaker 2: things saying there are over a dozen songs, but none
[33:49] Speaker 2: of them advanced the plot. Fair so it's considered a
[33:52] Speaker 2: play instead of a musical.
[33:54] Speaker 1: Interesting, Yeah, I get it, But I don't know if
[33:59] Speaker 1: you're gonna do this on stage, like there has to
[34:01] Speaker 1: be more music, right, I.
[34:02] Speaker 2: Mean there was an article in two thousand and one
[34:03] Speaker 2: on Playbuild that Tom's Tom Hanks that thing you do
[34:07] Speaker 2: may become musical.
[34:08] Speaker 1: Okay, that was a long time ago.
[34:10] Speaker 2: Yep, yeah, very long time ago.
[34:13] Speaker 1: So let's do some party takes, okay, cringe roments.
[34:21] Speaker 2: Honestly, I don't know, I know, I don't know, because
[34:26] Speaker 2: it's almost like every turn where I expected something cringe
[34:29] Speaker 2: or it didn't happen.
[34:31] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay with that, mm hmm
[34:35] Speaker 1: nothing glaring. No, I'm sure there's buried. Yes, But best
[34:41] Speaker 1: dance move I mean the choreography.
[34:44] Speaker 2: But when there's a girl group on stage and they're
[34:46] Speaker 2: performing on one of the State Fair dates, Oh, hold
[34:51] Speaker 2: my hand, hold my Heart?
[34:52] Speaker 1: Oh maybe, yes, yes, yes, okay, and also some shooters dance. Yes,
[34:59] Speaker 1: obviously the.
[35:00] Speaker 2: Best song the only one that.
[35:03] Speaker 1: You do obviously hold my Hand, hold my Heart? Yes, okay,
[35:08] Speaker 1: performance by a prop.
[35:11] Speaker 2: Oh man, I mean I think the Wonders like first
[35:15] Speaker 2: print of their single on the.
[35:16] Speaker 1: Right cute I'm going with guys sunglasses?
[35:20] Speaker 2: Oh yeah, excellent.
[35:22] Speaker 1: The journey of the the uh best line I quit,
[35:28] Speaker 1: I quit?
[35:30] Speaker 2: Why couldn't you have dumped in Pittsburgh?
[35:33] Speaker 1: Or when? Oh wait, I actually live? This is my
[35:37] Speaker 1: favorite line from the whole movie. Shame on me for
[35:42] Speaker 1: kissing you with my eyes closed so tight that whole monologue,
[35:51] Speaker 1: you see what.
[35:51] Speaker 2: I mean, Like that could have been so corny, and.
[35:54] Speaker 1: So I know, I know, you're right, You're so right.
[35:57] Speaker 1: It just but it's perfect. There's something about the mixture
[36:02] Speaker 1: of the actor and Tom and the groundedness that he
[36:06] Speaker 1: brought out of these people and they kept throughout the film,
[36:09] Speaker 1: you know, because it really could have the whole world
[36:12] Speaker 1: could have looked you know, it could have went that way.
[36:14] Speaker 4: Oh yeah, MVP Tom Hanks.
[36:25] Speaker 2: No, I think we're just going actor.
[36:27] Speaker 1: Okay, we're just going actor.
[36:29] Speaker 2: I'm giving it to Tom Everett Scott too.
[36:32] Speaker 1: Definitely.
[36:34] Speaker 2: I now have a crush on him, so I always have.
[36:37] Speaker 2: I didn't know. I didn't know. Okay, should we found
[36:41] Speaker 2: a TikTok? Jenna, do you know the impression of an
[36:46] Speaker 2: owl trend that's going on so people? Okay, this one
[36:51] Speaker 2: is my impression of an owl, but it's glee.
[36:53] Speaker 1: But like, what are people doing?
[36:54] Speaker 2: You'll just just watch it and you'll understand. So this
[36:58] Speaker 2: one goes.
[37:03] Speaker 1: Very cute, jessin where what other people doing?
[37:07] Speaker 2: I saw what was jay z? If he wasn't, I
[37:09] Speaker 2: was like, oho, I saw one if Soljia boy was
[37:15] Speaker 2: now this you.
[37:19] Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, this is so funny.
[37:22] Speaker 2: It's very good. People do some incredible impressions on there.
[37:30] Speaker 1: This is good. Okay, how fun.
[37:32] Speaker 2: So coming up, we're talking to the one and only
[37:37] Speaker 2: Jimmy from The Wonders himself, Jonathan Sheck Yay, oh yeah.
[37:43] Speaker 1: Okay, And so next week we're gonna try something a
[37:45] Speaker 1: little bit different, so go with us. So there's no
[37:47] Speaker 1: official assignment assignment, so just stick around, come back, listen,
[37:52] Speaker 1: hang out, and let us know what you think.
[37:54] Speaker 2: And that's what you really missed. Thanks for listening, and
[37:58] Speaker 2: follow us on Instagram at and that's what you really
[38:00] Speaker 2: miss pod. Make sure to write us a review and
[38:03] Speaker 2: leave us five stars. See you next time,

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