Hanks, Playtone launch 'Three Minute Talk Show' on Lexus content arm

Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone today launched a web-only project, “The Three Minute Talk Show,” running on LStudio.com, the content arm of car-maker Lexus.

The first edition is actually six minutes long, but it still breezes through the talkshow format with Barry Sobel as host, Fred Willard as sidekick, Ben Lee as bandleader and Hanks and comedian Charles Viracola (who gets one joke in a five-second appearance) as guests. A second segment with Bryan Cranston guesting is also online today.

Future guests are scheduled to include Jon Cryer, Johnny Knoxville, Stephen Moyer, Wilmer Valderrama, Ginnifer Goodwin, Cedric the Entertainer, Joe Jonas, Mike O’Malley.

“‘The Three Minute Talk Show’ is exactly the type of content we strive to showcase on LStudio,” said Dave Nordstrom, Lexus’ Vice President of Marketing. “Our goal has been to create an online destination with high-quality, thought-provoking material that consumers would want to return to again and again. Playtone’s innovative and entertaining content is the perfect fit and represents the next big step in establishing LStudio as a premiere, branded entertainment site.”

Content for LStudio.com is produced and distributed by Intelligent Life Productions in collaboration with Team One Advertising for Lexus. Ron Qurashi and Diane Charles exec produced. Creative Artists Agency brokered the deal for “The Three Minute Talk Show” with Intelligent Life Productions.

L Studio is also the home of "Web Therapy," the Lisa Kudrow starrer that is being adapted into a Showtime series.