Last week at New York's Old Mates bar, Australian icon Hugh Jackman sang several songs by American icon Neil Diamond. He's been doing a lot of this lately.
His new film, Song Sung Blue, is based on the true story of Mike and Claire Sardina, celebrity impersonators who teamed up to form a Neil Diamond-themed band called Lightning & Thunder. Jackman was originally cast as Mike, and director Craig Brewer was still looking for someone to play Claire when Jackman came up with the idea while watching TV: “Yeah. It's a little-known show, “CBS Sunday Morning,” he said.
In April 2024 Sunday Morning featured a profile of Kate Hudson. and her blossoming music career.
Jackman was contacted by friend and assistant Michelle: “She texts me: 'Are you watching CBS Sunday Morning?' I said, “No.” That's what I usually do – it sounded lame, but it's true! I usually do! I wasn't – I turned it on and there was Kate promoting her debut solo album. I wrote to Craig Brewer, the writer and director, and said, “Kate Hudson is Claire.” Claire is Kate.” And he said, “Oh my God, perfect.”
“Perfect” might be the right word: Hudson's turn, since Claire Sardina has already earned it Golden Globe nomination.
Jackman said: “As far as I could see and feel, nothing prepared me from the first day of rehearsal until the end until I watched the film of Kate's performance. when will it all come together? Magic”.
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The performances are magical, but what happened to the Sardines behind the scenes was anything but: between performances, they endured poverty, addiction and incredible bad luck.
“They go through a lot,” Hudson said. “And if it wasn’t a true story, it would almost be… you wouldn’t believe it, you know?”
The film is based on a love story and you can tell that the two lead actors have chemistry to burn. However, Jackman and Hudson did not know each other well before the project began. “It became kind of a joke,” Jackman said. “Because I remember when we first met, but she doesn’t remember anything. That’s exactly the impression I made!”
And now? “Oh, well, very good,” Hudson said. “Except completion. Besides that, that’s enough, almost everything!”
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Hudson was dismayed when Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell watched the film: “Everyone loved the movie. Most of all I thought, I watched my mother watch him. I'm like, “God…” because I'm probably not the glamorous version of myself—or even, frankly, the version of me. You know, I was a little heavier and I didn't see my leather man for a while, you know. I thought, “God, this must be so exciting for my mom.” to see my middle-aged daughter on screen.” She must have said, 'Oh my God, she's middle-aged!'
However, middle age appears to have done Kate Hudson some good, even in a year when anyone could go gray. Last January, a wind-driven firestorm burned down the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, where Hudson lived most of her life. Her home is one of the few still standing, but her neighborhood is full of vacant lots where her friends lived, and some of the places she treasured most have burned to the ground.
She showed us what's left of the neighborhood: “Every time I drive through here, picking up the kids from the baseball field or soccer field, I drive by and say, 'Oh, that's where mommy had her first kiss.' And now you're like… he's not here. And this is what I mean when I say: nothing lasts forever.”
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But at the end of the day, home is where you feel loved. For Hudson, it's still her neighborhood in Los Angeles. And for Jackman, it's his Manhattan pub: “I come here and I often hear, 'Oh, Hughie, come in and have a beer, mate.' I said, “Ah, I have to go.” “Ah, come on, buddy, don’t be a jerk. Let's go. Let's have a beer. Buy me a beer. You can afford it! There's a lot of that.”
I asked, “Can you show up somewhere and act like a regular dude?”
“Oh yes,” he replied.
“Can you show up here and be a regular dude?”
“Yeah, but I just have to be prepared for them to laugh at me!” Jackman said: “It's a sign of affection!”
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Later that evening, Jackman was getting ready for a small tribute to Neil Diamond at Old Mates, and just like in the film, Jackman and Hudson did what Neil Diamond himself would do: raise the roof.
Watch Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson perform “Sweet Caroline” at Old Mates:
One final note: Neil Diamond himself isn't in the film, but Jackman says he loved the film—and gave it his highest seal of approval: “He hugged me like that and I kind of leaned in and he just kissed my forehead. And he said, “You did good, baby!”
To watch the trailer for “Song Sung Blue”, click on the video player below:
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The story was produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Remington Corper.
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