Latest in Playtone

EXCLUSIVE: Lee Daniels and his Lee Daniels Entertainment have teamed with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone to develop a miniseries about dancer-singer-actor-musician Sammy Davis Jr., I have learned. The project, titled Sammy, is still in preliminary stages, but I hear the producers are circling the 2003 book In B…

EXCLUSIVE: HBO and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman have found the subject of their next major miniseries. HBO has acquired the rights to The Wright Brothers. The new David McCullough book tells the story of Wilbur and Orville Wright, who sold and repaired bicycles out of an Ohio shop to pay for their…

EXCLUSIVE: One of U.S.’ biggest economic stories of the 21st century, how to save American jobs in the face of outsourcing, is getting a personal treatments in Factory Man, a miniseries in development at HBO. The project, produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone, is based on Beth Macy’s nonfiction book Factor…

CNN, Playtone, and Herzog & Company are co-producing a provocative, sweeping 10-part documentary series that will explore perhaps the most transformative decade of the modern era. The non-scripted series will be executive produced by multiple EMMY® Award-winning producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (HBO's John Adams…

EXCLUSIVE: HBO has set Ides Of March screenwriter and playwright Beau Willimon to write Jack Johnson, a miniseries about the life of the first African-American world heavyweight champion. The mini teams Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and historian and documentary director Ken Burns. To be told in four…

EXCLUSIVE: Michel Hazanavicius, who won the Oscar in February for helming The Artist, is in talks to direct the Universal Pictures/Playtone adaptation of the Erik Larson nonfiction book In The Garden Of Beasts. Tom Hanks will star in the film and produce it with partner Gary Goetzman, and I’m hearing that they are…

EXCLUSIVE: HBO and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are in early talks to acquire the Berlin Noir novel series by Philip Kerr. The plan is to develop this as a series that focuses on the police detective character Bernie Gunther in 1930s Germany, with the political climate and run-up to WWII and then the…

Yahoo says that it has exclusive online rights to the sci-fi adventure series Electric City, which will be shown in several parts beginning in 2012 supported by “a deeply immersive and interactive online experience that enhances the drama, mystery and intrigue of the series.” Electric City will be available in several…

Cineflix Studios, the scripted division of Canadian producer Cineflix Media, is opening a Los Angeles office with the hire of Playtone development executive Miura Kite as EVP. She will join on November 7 and report to Cinefix Studios president Christina Wayne. Two weeks ago, another Playtone executive, Peter…

EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Playtone development and production executive Peter Friedlander is joining Netflix, where he will oversee original content acquisition. While acquisitions of existing TV series has been the backbone of Netflix’s rise over the past few years, including high-profile recent deals with AMC and the CW…

EXCLUSIVE: As HBO prepares to unveil its epic-sized series adaptation of George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones this Sunday, the payweb has begun talks to acquire the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods to be developed into another fantasy series. The project was brought to HBO by Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary…

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures is negotiating to turn the Green Day-fueled Broadway musical American Idiot into a feature film. Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning Milk scribe, is in talks to write the script, and Michael Mayer will direct. Mayer helmed the stage run of the musical, which is closing on Broadway April…