Factual error: When the boys go to the radio show in CA, the DJ says to the listeners to keep Saturday and Sunday, August 20th and 21st [1964] open. The 20th and 21st of August 1964 were a Thursday and a Friday.
That Thing You Do (1996)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Tom Hanks
Starring: Tom Hanks, Steve Zahn, Liv Tyler, Ethan Embry, Johnathon Schaech, Tom Everett Scott
The Wonders split up. Guy and Del Paxton jam together. Guy and Faye (Liv Tyler) get together. Years later, The Bass Player goes to Vietnam and is awarded with a Purple Heart. Lenny becomes manager of a hotel and a casino. Jimmy and his new band (The Herdsmen) become a smash hit for Play Tone Records. Guy and Faye have kids and he becomes a music composition teacher.
A.J.
More mistakes in That Thing You Do
Lenny Haise: Here's the thing, we're not "The Wonders" right now, we're "Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters."
Trivia: Throughout the entire movie, no one ever says the bass player's name. Even in the credits, he is listed as T.B. Player and The Bass Player.
Question: Are the characters in this movie based on actual people? Is it a true story or a fictional story that was entirely possible?
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Answer: The movie was written by Tom Hanks and some what reflects the music industry during that time period. It is not about a real band, but shows how a lot of bands were treated at the time and how quickly you can rise and how you can fall even faster.
Bruce Minnick