“I think what happens is that when you become famous in something that people love to see you in, like a rom-com, it becomes something that people want to keep putting you in, betting on you,” Kate Hudson ponders.
Conversation with Exclaim! In front of her newly decked out holiday decor at her Los Angeles home, Hudson is quick to stress that it's not that she doesn't think Hollywood didn't give her a chance. She is aware of the “lots of amazing opportunities” the industry offers her, but her early success in films such as How to lose a guy in 10 daysput her in a special box with the casting directors.
She laments that after achieving a certain amount of fame for playing a certain type of character, audiences find it difficult to let her “disappear into something like Claire.”
Hudson is referring to Claire Sardina (a real-life entertainer best known for her role in Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute show with her late husband Mike), the actor's last role in Song Song Bluewhich has already earned Hudson a Golden Globe nomination.
Claire represents a departure from the characters we typically associate with Hudson. Trading Hollywood glamor for Midwestern style, Claire also faced serious life challenges, most notably when she lost her leg after a tragic car accident. The accident left her in a dark place, struggling with depression and an addiction to painkillers.
This is the best result of Hudson's career. Her ability to harness Claire's pain in a story of resilience, love and joy shows us a Kate Hudson we haven't seen since she was nominated for an Oscar. Almost Famous25 years ago.
“You have to be really close for something like this. Need to be closer. We had an incredible team with us,” Hudson recalls. “For me, the scenes in the bed, this bedroom – we honor not only Claire's life, but also the people who are suffering [from addiction]”
Hudson admits that being an artist means, “Unfortunately, you have a lot of people you've lost to addiction. I have had many experiences with friends, family who have struggled. As much as I would like it to seem very far away, it’s not.”
The time spent in Claire's bedroom was one of the most heartbreaking moments in the film. Hudson's Claire, inconsolable in her grief, and Hugh Jackman's Mike, desperately trying to find a way back to his wife, these scenes are palpable in their agony.
“You have to respect the character as much as you would respect yourself,” Hudson says thoughtfully.
Filming these very moments, the director Craig Brewer took a position of non-intervention. Having known Hudson for 20 years, Brewer had a deep understanding of what the role meant to the actor and respected her, especially during the more challenging parts of the film.
“I knew that Kate was in a position and a place in her life and in her work where she wanted to give me everything she had,” Brewer shares over Zoom.
He continues, “I just wanted to be a net for her, on that tightrope. And in a lot of those scenes, I would go up and whisper to her and just encourage her. “
Although they first met years ago, when first son Hudson was a baby, Brewer hadn't seen her in a while and was a little taken aback when he saw her give an interview on CBS last year to promote her debut album. glorious.
“She started crying because she was upset about the fact that her son was going to college,” Brewer recalls. It made him stop and think, “Wait, this can't be true. Is he going to college? Time really flew by so quickly.”
Seeing Hudson discuss this new phase of motherhood made a light bulb go on over Brewer's head as he serendipitously searched for his Claire. “I think Kate is older and at the same time more suitable for the stories I want to tell right now,” he says.
Brewer adds: “Song Song Blue [is] the story is really about, “Well, am I done?” Can I really achieve what I really want in life?” Whether it’s love or a new family, or the dream of making music, going out and playing in bars and venues.”
Clare, Song Song Blue And glorious represent the start of a new season in Hudson's career, proving that she can achieve what she really wants in life, just like the Sardinas did.
Even through the computer screen, it's obvious how excited Hudson is to see the warm welcome to Song Song Bluewhich will be in cinemas on Christmas Day.
She remembers how she starred in Mona Lisa and Blood Moon four years ago as Bonnie Belle, a stripper who tries to harness the telepathic powers of a young woman she encounters. “I loved filming with Ana Lily Amirpour and got to lose myself in Bonnie, but no one had actually seen the movie,” she says with a laugh.
Perhaps because she saw her parents' careers up close in her youth, she has a clearer and more realistic view of how art and commerce should coexist, and therefore does not take for granted the early hype surrounding her performance in Song Song Blue.
“This film was able to hit almost everything I love to do. I can sing, I can be happy, and then I dive into something incredibly complex and show different sides of myself as an actor. What a joy to be able to combine all the things I love most into one,” she says. “And when people really like it, it’s just amazing.”
