Gary Goetzman
Encyclopedia
Gary M. Goetzman is an American
film
and television producer
, and is perhaps best known as co-founder of Playtone
with Tom Hanks
. Born in Los Angeles
, Goetzman began his career as a child actor. In 1984, director Jonathan Demme
tapped Goetzman to co-produce the Talking Heads
concert film Stop Making Sense
. That initiated a successful run as a music supervisor (with Sharon Boyle), on such films as Something Wild, Colors
, Modern Girls
and Married to the Mob
, among many others. In 1991, Demme again turned to Goetzman, making him executive producer on The Silence of the Lambs.
In 1993, Goetzman was executive producer of Demme's Philadelphia
, starring Tom Hanks. It was here he began a working relationship with Hanks and went on to co-found The Playtone Company. Since then, Goetzman has produced hits such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding
, Evan Almighty
, Charlie Wilson's War
and the film version of Mamma Mia!
. Goetzman was also the recipient of an Emmy Award
for his role as co-producer of the Band of Brothers mini-series; he also won a Golden Globe as co-producer of the HBO mini-series John Adams. He and Hanks collaborated again in 2010 for HBO's The Pacific
.
Aside from producing films, Goetzman has been known to play small parts in movies he is connected to. He has also enjoyed a successful parallel career as a music composer and producer, working with such artists as Smokey Robinson
,
Jane Child
and Thelma Houston
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, and is perhaps best known as co-founder of Playtone
Playtone
The Playtone Company is an American film and television production company and record label established in 1996 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman....
with Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
. Born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Goetzman began his career as a child actor. In 1984, director Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
tapped Goetzman to co-produce the Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
concert film Stop Making Sense
Stop Making Sense
Stop Making Sense is a concert movie featuring Talking Heads live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for...
. That initiated a successful run as a music supervisor (with Sharon Boyle), on such films as Something Wild, Colors
Colors (film)
Colors is a 1988 police procedural crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and directed by Dennis Hopper. The story takes place in South Central Los Angeles, and is about Bob Hodges , an experienced LAPD Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Police Officer III, and his rookie partner,...
, Modern Girls
Modern Girls
Modern Girls is a 1986 comedy film. The film is directed by Jerry Kramer and stars Virginia Madsen, Daphne Zuniga and Cynthia Gibb.- Plot Summary :Three girls, Margo, Kelly, and Cece are roommates living in Los Angeles and enjoying the night life....
and Married to the Mob
Married to the Mob
Married to the Mob is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Modine.Michelle Pfeiffer, in something of a departure from her previous roles, gave an acclaimed lead performance as a gangster's widow from Brooklyn, opposite Matthew Modine as the...
, among many others. In 1991, Demme again turned to Goetzman, making him executive producer on The Silence of the Lambs.
In 1993, Goetzman was executive producer of Demme's Philadelphia
Philadelphia (film)
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
, starring Tom Hanks. It was here he began a working relationship with Hanks and went on to co-found The Playtone Company. Since then, Goetzman has produced hits such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 2002 Canadian and American romantic comedy film written by and starring Nia Vardalos and directed by Joel Zwick. The film is centered on Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos , a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek upper middle class "White...
, Evan Almighty
Evan Almighty
Evan Almighty is a 2007 American religious comedy film and the stand-alone sequel to Bruce Almighty . The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Steve Carell as the title character. Morgan Freeman also reprised his role as God from the original film. Production of...
, Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their...
and the film version of Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
. Goetzman was also the recipient of an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his role as co-producer of the Band of Brothers mini-series; he also won a Golden Globe as co-producer of the HBO mini-series John Adams. He and Hanks collaborated again in 2010 for HBO's The Pacific
The Pacific (miniseries)
The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010....
.
Aside from producing films, Goetzman has been known to play small parts in movies he is connected to. He has also enjoyed a successful parallel career as a music composer and producer, working with such artists as Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
,
Jane Child
Jane Child
Jane Child is a Canadian dance-pop singer, producer and musician.-Career:The daughter of Ricky Hyslop, Child joined Canadian Opera Company's children's chorus in her youth....
and Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She scored a number-one hit in 1976 with her cover version of the song "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.-Early life & career:Houston is the daughter of a cotton picking mother...
.
As Music Supervisor (with Sharon Boyle)
- Something Wild (1986)
- And God Created WomanAnd God Created Woman (1988 film)And God Created Woman is a 1988 film that starred Rebecca De Mornay and Vincent Spano. It is a remake of the 1958 French film Et Dieu… créa la femme starring Brigitte Bardot....
(1988) - ColorsColors (film)Colors is a 1988 police procedural crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and directed by Dennis Hopper. The story takes place in South Central Los Angeles, and is about Bob Hodges , an experienced LAPD Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Police Officer III, and his rookie partner,...
(1988) - Married to the MobMarried to the MobMarried to the Mob is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Modine.Michelle Pfeiffer, in something of a departure from her previous roles, gave an acclaimed lead performance as a gangster's widow from Brooklyn, opposite Matthew Modine as the...
(1988) - Lost AngelsLost AngelsLost Angels is a movie starring Donald Sutherland and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. It was released in 1989 and is an independent film. The movie was directed by Hugh Hudson and written by Michael Weller. It was filmed in and around San Antonio, Texas, that city "standing in" for Los Angeles...
(1989) - Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly HillsScenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly HillsScenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is an American black comedy film released in 1989. Co-written and directed by Paul Bartel, Scenes re-unites Bartel with his Eating Raoul co-stars Mary Woronov and Robert Beltran...
(1989) - Little MonstersLittle MonstersLittle Monsters is a 1989 comedy-drama film starring Fred Savage as Brian Stevenson, a sixth-grader who has recently moved to a new town, and Howie Mandel as Maurice, the monster under the bed....
(1989) - True BelieverTrue believerTrue believer or The True Believer may refer to:* One who is strongly attached to a particular belief* True-believer syndrome, a term for irrational, persistent belief- Film and television :...
(1989) - Miami BluesMiami Blues (film)Miami Blues is a 1990 action-crime-thriller-film based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. It stars Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by George Armitage.- Plot :...
(1990) - The Prince of PennsylvaniaThe Prince of PennsylvaniaThe Prince of Pennsylvania is a 1988 comedic drama starring Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Ward, and Amy Madigan. The Academy Award-nominated composer Thomas Newman wrote the music...
(1990) - A Shock to the SystemA Shock to the SystemA Shock to the System is a U.S. comedy crime thriller film directed by Jan Egleson, starring Michael Caine, Swoosie Kurtz, Elizabeth McGovern, and Peter Riegert...
(1990) - CatchfireCatchfireCatchfire is a 1990 action-thriller-drama film starring Jodie Foster, Dennis Hopper, and Fred Ward. Several other notable actors have cameos. The film was disowned by its director, Hopper, before release and he is therefore credited under the fictional pseudonym Alan Smithee...
(a.k.a. Backtrack) (1990) - The Hot SpotThe Hot SpotThe Hot Spot is a 1990 American drama film directed by Dennis Hopper and based on the 1952 book Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams. It stars Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, and Jennifer Connelly, and features a score by Jack Nitzsche played by John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal and Roy...
(1990) - Reversal of FortuneReversal of FortuneReversal of Fortune is a 1990 film adapted from the 1985 book Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case, written by law professor Alan Dershowitz...
(1990) - Queens LogicQueens LogicQueens Logic is a 1991 comedy from Seven Arts Pictures starring Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, Joe Mantegna, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Malkovich, Ken Olin, Chloe Webb and Tom Waits...
(1991) - Point BreakPoint BreakPoint Break is a 1991 action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline.The film was a box office success upon...
(1991) - Until the End of the WorldUntil the End of the WorldUntil the End of the World is a 1991 film by the German film director Wim Wenders; the screenplay was written by Wenders and Peter Carey, from a story by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin. An initial draft of the screenplay was written by American filmmaker Michael Almereyda...
(1991) - FreejackFreejackFreejack is a 1992 science fiction film directed by Geoff Murphy, starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo, Jonathan Banks, Grand L. Bush and Anthony Hopkins. Upon its release in the United States, the film received mostly negative reviews. The story was adapted from Immortality, Inc., a...
(1992) - Deep CoverDeep CoverDeep Cover is a 1992 crime thriller film starring Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum and directed by veteran actor Bill Duke. It is also notable for its theme song of the same name, composed by Dr...
(1992) - Amos and Andrew (1993)
As Producer/Executive Producer
- Stop Making SenseStop Making SenseStop Making Sense is a concert movie featuring Talking Heads live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for...
(1984) - Modern GirlsModern GirlsModern Girls is a 1986 comedy film. The film is directed by Jerry Kramer and stars Virginia Madsen, Daphne Zuniga and Cynthia Gibb.- Plot Summary :Three girls, Margo, Kelly, and Cece are roommates living in Los Angeles and enjoying the night life....
(1986) - Miami Blues (1990)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Amos and Andrew (1993)
- PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia (film)Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
(1993) - Devil in a Blue DressDevil in a Blue Dress (film)Devil in a Blue Dress is a 1995 American neo-noir film directed by Carl Franklin and photographed by Tak Fujimoto.The film was based on Walter Mosley's novel of the same name, was executive produced by Jonathan Demme, and starred Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, and Don Cheadle.In...
(1995) - That Thing You Do!That Thing You Do!That Thing You Do! is a 1996 comedy-drama musical film written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the story of the quick rise and fall of a one-hit wonder rock band...
(1995) - Storefront HitchcockStorefront HitchcockStorefront Hitchcock is the title of a soundtrack album by Robyn Hitchcock, released in support of a film of the same name, which was directed by Jonathan Demme....
(1998) - Band of BrothersBand of BrothersBand of Brothers is a 2001 ten-part, 11-hour television World War II miniseries based on the book of the same title written by historian and biographer Stephen E. Ambrose. The executive producers were Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who had collaborated on the World War II film Saving Private Ryan...
(2001) (TV) - My Big Fat Greek WeddingMy Big Fat Greek WeddingMy Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 2002 Canadian and American romantic comedy film written by and starring Nia Vardalos and directed by Joel Zwick. The film is centered on Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos , a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek upper middle class "White...
(2002) - The Polar ExpressThe Polar ExpressThe Polar Express is a 1985 children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, a former professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was adapted as an Oscar-nominated motion-capture film in 2004....
(2004) - Neil Young: Heart of GoldNeil Young: Heart of GoldNeil Young: Heart of Gold is a 2006 documentary and concert film by Jonathan Demme, featuring Neil Young. The film was made in the summer of 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was released to theaters on February 10, 2006...
(2006) - Big LoveBig LoveBig Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
(2007) (TV) - Evan AlmightyEvan AlmightyEvan Almighty is a 2007 American religious comedy film and the stand-alone sequel to Bruce Almighty . The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Steve Carell as the title character. Morgan Freeman also reprised his role as God from the original film. Production of...
(2007) - Charlie Wilson's WarCharlie Wilson's WarCharlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their...
(2007) - The Great Buck HowardThe Great Buck HowardThe Great Buck Howard is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Sean McGinly that stars Colin Hanks and John Malkovich. Tom Hanks also appears as the father of his real-life son's character. The character Buck Howard is inspired by the mentalist The Amazing Kreskin, whose popularity was at...
(2008) - Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia! (film)Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End/2001 Broadway musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson...
(2008) - John Adams (2008) (TV)
- Where the Wild Things AreWhere the Wild Things Are (film)Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 American fantasy drama film directed by Spike Jonze and adapted from Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are. It combines live action, performers in costumes, animatronics, and computer-generated imagery...
(2009) - The PacificThe Pacific (miniseries)The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010....
(2010) (TV) - Larry CrowneLarry CrowneLarry Crowne is a 2011 American romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The film was directed by Hanks, who co-wrote its screenplay with Nia Vardalos...
(2011) - Electric City (2011) (TV)
- American GodsAmerican GodsAmerican Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow. It is Gaiman's fourth prose novel, being preceded by Good Omens ,...
(2013) (TV)