Exclusive: Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson on How ‘Song Sung Blue’ is a Love Letter to Musicians

In turning the life and times of American cover artists Mike and Claire Sardinia (Lightning & Thunder) into a biographical music drama Song Sung Blue, the power of Neil Diamond’s songs comes to the fore, as interpreted by lead actors Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

While the film — based on a 2008 documentary by Greg Kohs — released in the U.S. on Dec. 25, 2025, it’s now hitting Indian cinemas on Jan. 9, 2026, via Universal Pictures, capturing the tumultuous, resilient musical spirit of a Neil Diamond tribute duo. A film inspired by Neil Diamond’s music, Song Sung Blue features Jackman and Hudson singing favorites ranging from “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am… I Said,” “Cherry, Cherry,” and of course, “Song Sung Blue.”

“It really becomes a story about love and dedication to each other,” Hudson tells Rolling Stone India.

Jackman tells Rolling Stone India exclusively about why he was drawn to playing Mike Saridina in Song Sung Blue, “It was such a compelling, beautiful idea, what I sensed was this ode to tip jar musicians around the world.”

The Australian actor and singer is famously known for musical roles in The Greatest Showman and Les Misérables. He says about portraying a hardworking musician, “It seems like such an arbitrary and fine line between someone being a massive star or not, and this was a celebration of the type of people who got a tip jar in front of them and are playing while working three jobs. They do it for the love of it, and they’re really fantastic. To me, this is a love letter to them.”

For him, he saw the likes of Lightning & Thunder as not the kind who were chasing “booking out Madison Square Garden” but playing karaoke nights or setting up at local pubs. “This movie is a love letter to musicians around the world who dedicate their lives to the music, who are singing at the state fair with nine people watching in the rain and having the time of their lives,” Jackman adds.

Another key draw with Song Sung Blue is the love story between the Sardinias. “Where one plus one equals three — where two people coming together and being there for each other sparks magic,” Jackman says.

Directed by Craig Brewer (known for his 2005 film Hustle & Flow), the project also brought in composer and longtime Hollywood executive music producer Scott Bomar. While Bomar had composed the score for Hustle & Flow and worked with Brewer on subsequent films, Song Sung Blue was a project that required a different treatment. “Each song in the film has a thematic purpose both lyrically and in how it is filmed,” he says.                    

Before any filming began, Brewer and Bomar oversaw the pre-recording of all the music in Song Sung Blue in Memphis. Among the musicians enlisted for the soundtrack were Richard Bennett, who toured with Neil Diamond for decades and also co-wrote and played guitar on “Forever in Blue Jeans.”           
“We wanted the music to be true to both the original Neil versions and how Lightning and Thunder would have performed them,” Bomar says.

After recording the instrumentals, Jackman and Hudson recorded their vocals, a process that helped them get into character in a new way. “We didn’t really have any time to rehearse before filming — we would do some read-throughs of the script, but really it was the time where Kate and Hugh were recording together that they began to figure each other and their characters out,” Brewer says. “The time that they spent singing together just really contributed to the chemistry between the two of them on camera. They already just had such trust and felt like they’d known each other for decades.”