That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do! is the name of a 1996 film, written and directed by Tom Hanks. The movie tells the story of a fictional one-hit wonder rock band's rise to near fame on the heels of the British Invasion in the early 1960s. From local clubs and dances, to a major national tour and a record contract.
The fictional band was called The Oneders (pronounced "wonders", the name combining "one" and "wonder"). Because no one knew how to pronounce it correctly, the band name was changed eventually to "The Wonders". The band members are Tom Everett Scott as "Guy Patterson", Johnathon Schaech as "Jimmy Mattingly", Steve Zahn as "Lenny Haise" and Ethan Embry as "The Bass Player". The film also features Liv Tyler as "Faye Dolan", Charlize Theron as "Tina", Rita Wilson as "Marguerite", musician Chris Isaak as "Uncle Bob" and Hanks himself as "Mr. White", the band's manager.
The movie featured original music by Hanks, Adam Schlesinger, Rick Elias, Scott Rogness Mike Piccirillo, Gary Goetzman and Howard Shore. In the film, The Wonders rise to brief stardom on the strength of "That Thing You Do," a wistful, uptempo ballad. Written and composed by Adam Schlesinger, bassist for Fountains of Wayne, and released on the film's soundtrack, the song became a genuine respectable hit for "The Wonders" in 1996, and was nominated for a a 1996 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and for a 1996 Academy Award for Best New Song, which a 2001 VH1.com critical review of songs that should have won past Academy Awards maintained should have won [1].
Hanks put in several references to the space program. For instance, Haise and Mattingly were astronauts in the original crew of Apollo 13, and a band called "The Gemini" is on the marquee of the theater in Pittsburgh.