Playtone

The Playtone Company
FormerlyClavius Base Productions (1987-1998)
TypePrivate
IndustryFilm production
Television production
FoundedJuly 10, 1987; 39 years ago (1987-07-10) (as Clavius Base Productions)
January 23, 1998; 28 years ago (1998-01-23) (registered as Playtone) in Santa Monica, California, United States
FoundersTom Hanks
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
,
United States
Key peopleTom Hanks (CEO)
Rita Wilson Hanks (CFO)
ProductsMotion pictures
Television programs
OwnerTom Hanks
SubsidiariesPlaytone Records
WebsiteOfficial website

The Playtone Company (stylized on-screen as PLAY•TONE; a.k.a. Playtone Productions, formerly Clavius Base Productions) is an American film and television production company established in 1987 and registered on January 23, 1998 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman, and based in Santa Monica, California.

The company was named after the fictional record company of the same name in the 1996 film That Thing You Do!, written and directed by Hanks; it also uses the same company logo, typically revealed on-screen with a brief instrumental snippet of the titular song itself, with some variations in each film depending on subject matter. The success of the film served as a spring-board to launch an actual Playtone Records label that year, with its first release being the film's soundtrack.

History

In 1987, Tom Hanks formed its own production company, Clavius Base Productions, with a non-exclusive, first-look deal at the Walt Disney Studios. The company is named after the base from 2001: A Space Odyssey. After five years at Disney, the company signed a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox in 1992.

Although it was an in-name only operation, the company only produced one film under the original company name, the hit film That Thing You Do!, which inspired the later Playtone name. In 1995, the company produced the expensive HBO miniseries and its first foray into television, From the Earth to the Moon, in collaboration with Imagine Television, which was aired in 1998 and beginning of a long-running relationship between the company and HBO.

The success of the movie led Hanks to partner with Gary Goetzman, then of Jonathan Demme's production firm, to sign a deal with Universal Pictures in 1997, and eventually registered under the Playtone name, supplanting the earlier Clavius Base firm and adopted the firm, previously used for the Playtone Records label. The company then scored its hit with another HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers, which was released in 2001.

Filmography

Feature films

Year Film Directed by Co-production(s) Distributor(s)
Released films
as Clavius Base
1996 That Thing You Do! Tom Hanks Clinica Estetico 20th Century Fox
as Playtone
2000 Cast Away Robert Zemeckis ImageMovers 20th Century Fox (North America)
DreamWorks Pictures (International)
2002 My Big Fat Greek Wedding Joel Zwick Gold Circle Films, HBO Films and MPH Entertainment IFC Films
2004 The Polar Express Robert Zemeckis Castle Rock Entertainment, ImageMovers and Shangri-La Entertainment Warner Bros. Pictures
2005 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon Mark Cowen — IMAX
2006 Neil Young: Heart of Gold Jonathan Demme Reprise Records and Shangri-La Entertainment Paramount Classics
The Ant Bully John A. Davis DNA Productions and Legendary Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures
Starter for 10 Tom Vaughan BBC Films, HBO Films and Neal Street Productions Picturehouse (United States)
Icon Film Distribution (United Kingdom)
2007 Charlie Wilson's War Mike Nichols Participant Productions and Relativity Media Universal Pictures
2008 The Great Buck Howard Sean McGinly Bristol Bay Productions and Walden Media Magnolia Pictures
Mamma Mia! Phyllida Lloyd Relativity Media and Littlestar Universal Pictures
City of Ember Gil Kenan Walden Media 20th Century Fox
2009 My Life in Ruins Donald Petrie — Fox Searchlight Pictures
Where the Wild Things Are Spike Jonze Legendary Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures
2011 Larry Crowne Tom Hanks Vendôme Pictures Universal Pictures
2013 Parkland Peter Landesman American Film Company Exclusive Media Group
2016 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Kirk Jones Gold Circle Films and HBO Films Universal Pictures
A Hologram for the King Tom Tykwer X-Filme Creative Pool and Primeridian Entertainment Lionsgate Films
Roadside Attractions
Saban Films
2017 The Circle James Ponsoldt Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Likely Story EuropaCorp
STX Entertainment
2018 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Ol Parker Legendary Pictures and Littlestar Universal Pictures
2020 Greyhound Aaron Schneider Sony Pictures, Stage 6 Films, Bron Studios, FilmNation Entertainment, Sycamore Pictures and Zhengfu Pictures Apple TV+
News of the World Paul Greengrass Pretty Pictures Universal Pictures (United States)
Netflix (International)
2023 A Man Called Otto Marc Forster Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, SF Studios, Artistic Films, 2DUX², Big Indie and STXfilms Sony Pictures Releasing
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Nia Vardalos Gold Circle Films and HBO Films Focus Features
2024 Masters of the Air Mark Herzog
Laurent Bouzereau		 Amblin Television and Herzog & Co. Apple TV+

Series

Television series

Year(s) Title Created by Co-production(s) Distributor Original Network
Released series
1998 From the Earth to the Moon Andrew Chaikin Imagine Television Warner Bros. Television HBO
2001 Band of Brothers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg DreamWorks Television
2003 My Big Fat Greek Life Nia Vardalos and Marsh McCall Brad Grey Productions / Marsh McCall Productions Sony Pictures Television CBS
2006–2011 Big Love Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer Anima Sola Productions Warner Bros. Television HBO
2008 John Adams David Coatsworth and Steve Shareshian High Noon Productions / Mid Atlantic Films
2010 The Pacific Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman DreamWorks Television
2012 Game Change Mark Halperin and John Heilemann HBO Films
2014 Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout As Is Productions
The Sixties Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog Herzog & Company CNN
2015 The Seventies
2016 The Eighties
2017 The Nineties
2018 The 2000s
2019 The Movies
2023 The 2010s
2024 Masters of the Air John Shiban and John Orloff Amblin Television / Apple Studios Apple Inc. Apple TV+

Web series

Year(s) Title Created by Co-production(s) Distributor Original Network
2012 Electric City Tom Hanks 6 Point Harness / Reliance Entertainment Yahoo! Yahoo! Screen

Playtone Records releases

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Playtone Company - SI-COMPLETE - 02/08/2016". Scribd. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Chu, Karen (2011-06-11). "Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions Announces Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods,' Mattel's 'Major Matt Mason,' Green Day's 'American Idiot' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  3. ↑ "Tom Hanks Sign Deal at Disney". Daily Variety. July 10, 1987.
  4. ↑ Press, Associated (1995-06-30). "HOT HOLLYWOOD STAR STILL WARM AND HUMBLE". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  5. ↑ Broeske, Pat (July 14, 1995). "Tom Hanks considers what's next". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  6. ↑ Eller, Claudia (1992-10-30). "Hanks headed to Fox in 2-yr. prod'n pact". Variety. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  7. 1 2 Cox, Dan; Petrikin, Chris (1997-12-15). "U turn for Hanks". Variety. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  8. ↑ Busch, Anita M. (1995-12-04). "'Apollo' Trio In HBO Series Deal". Variety. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  9. 1 2 Dempsey, John (1997-06-11). "HBO has 'Earth' mates". Variety. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  10. ↑ Bernstein, Paula (2000-05-24). "HBO recruits directors for mini 'Band'". Variety. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  11. ↑ Rice, Lynette (February 28, 2024). "Apple TV+ Reveals Premiere Date, Trailer For 'The Bloody Hundredth' Doc From Playtone-Amblin". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ Guthrie, Marisa (January 18, 2013). "HBO Developing Third WWII Miniseries with Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.