YAAAASSSSSS!

An oral history for the 25th anniversary of the delightful, very re-watchable That Thing You Do!:

Later that year, as The Beatles embarked on a trip to Australia, Ringo Starr came down with tonsillitis. Instead of canceling the tour, manager Brian Epstein tapped English drummer Jimmie Nicol as a replacement for eight shows. For three decades, Hanks couldn’t get the story out of his head. “That had definitely stuck in my craw because I thought, ‘What was that guy’s life like for a while?’”

Ed Saxon (producer): Nobody’s in the “Say no to Tom Hanks” business who wants to keep working.

 From last year:

Someone who doesn’t know the thrill (and perhaps rebellion) of hearing their favorite song come on the radio could not have created the movie’s most ecstatic scene: the first time “That Thing You Do!” plays on the local radio station.

"But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “didn't this very thing happen to you?"

Sigh. YES, faithful readers, yes it did!