Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson: Actors on their performances in 'Song Sung Blue'

‘Song Sung Blue’, a story of hope amidst a tragic love story. 

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star as Mike and Claire Sardina, aka Lightning and Thunder, a duo Neil Diamond tribute act that got major attention in Milwaukee. 

The film is based off a documentary about the couple with the same name, that was released in 2008.  

Before working together on this project, Jackman and Hudson didn't really know one another – meeting a few times but not in any great detail. 

But for a movie like this, where the relationship between the two leads is the basis of the film, that can be a risk. 

“On day one, Kate said to me, you know, if we don’t work, this movie doesn’t work,” Jackman told Mike Hosking. 

“And she was right, but I had a lot of confidence.”  

“I had a strong sense that it was gonna be great, but I didn’t know it was gonna be this great or this easy.” 

For Hudson, things clicked into place when the two kissed for the first time. 

“It’s like we’ve been kissing each other for years,” she said. 

One review described the role as Jackman’s most ambitious yet, a sentiment the actor agreed with. 

“I think it combines a lot of different things that I do, but in many ways it was asking things of me that I hadn’t done before.” 

Hudson agreed, comparing it to asking a baseball player if they want to play in the major leagues. 

“It’s scary, but I want that.” 

“I love hard work, and I like work that gives me a little of the, you know, the butterflies.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hugh Jackman Kate Hudson new movie for Neil Diamond fans. Obviously,
they star as Mike and Clear Sadina who are Lightning
and Thunder, a group Lightning and Thunder. It's a duo
Neil Diamond tribute act. Get some attention to Milwaukee now.
The movie itself is based on a documentary of the couple.
It was called Song Sung Blue that came out in
two thousand and eight. It's a story of hope amidst
a tragic love story, generating Oscar buzz and d four

(00:22):
Hudson herself and her role. Anyway, Hugh Jackman Kate Hudson
are with us. Good morning, Good.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Morning, morning mate.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Now correct me if I'm wrong, Kate, you two didn't
know each other before this project.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Not really.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
We had met a couple times, but we had we
didn't really know each other. Now.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
So having said that, what's the creative risk you rickon
of putting two people together in these roles that you
two have if you don't know each other really well?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
I will let Hugh answer this because I said it
to Hugh.

Speaker 4 (00:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (00:52):
On day one, Kate said to me, you know, if
we don't work this movie, doesn't work, and.

Speaker 4 (00:58):
She was right.

Speaker 5 (00:59):
But I I had a lot of confidence because it
was it was Michelle, my friend, who said, you watching
CBS Sunday, and I said, Kate Hudson has done an
album and there's a great story about her and I
and she should play Claire.

Speaker 4 (01:13):
And I went and I turned on. It was like
as soon as she said, I was like yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:16):
And then I turned it on and I watched it.
I'm like, I could just see it and i'd met,
we'd actually met. We've done like a reading of something,
so we'd met a little bit along the way. But
I had a sense. So I had a strong sense
that it was going to be great, but I didn't
know it was going to be this great or this easy, Mike,
if I'm honest, So.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Kate, when it clicked for you, I mean, basically, how
did you know? Was it instant?

Speaker 3 (01:37):
I mean yes, But I have to say, I mean,
I don't mean to I don't want this to sound reductive,
because it wasn't. But when we kissed, I have to say,
it was It's like we've we'd been kissing each.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Other for years. It was the easiest kiss and kissing
the whole it was like it was like he was
my husband.

Speaker 3 (02:01):
But I think part of that started when we, you know,
started to get to know each other. My thing with him,
which was really important to me. It's like, you know,
we have to I also wanted Hugh. I didn't know Hugh,
so I was like, I'm very tactile and I want
to get to know you, and if I ever weared
you out, you know.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Just let me know.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
Found out that we're very similar, connective people and very open.
We found each other really really like transitional time in
our lives spiritually, and I think it just opened us
up to each other. And it was like, I know
this sounds silly a little bit, but it's like the
universe just sort of put.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Us exactly where we were supposed to be, and we
felt that immediately.

Speaker 5 (02:48):
We said, although I might just remind you of that.
We were doing a scene and stopped to snow and
it was freezing and we it wasn't snowing on the
wide shot or on my close up, and then it
stopped to snow. We went we filmed it so beautiful,
and we went back and shot my side. So we're
out in the cold quite a long time, and you know,
when you get cold and you know it starts to run.
So I just remember after one of the kisses, this

(03:11):
was Kate's face.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
I'm right, it was my nose running and go and
we had three more takes.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
You like, you'll never look at me to say them again,
and I went, you're.

Speaker 5 (03:24):
Right when you're going in for a kiss and it's
on camera but the woman's doing this.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Doesn't do a lot of your confidence, Mike.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Somebody I read a review suggested this could well be
your most ambitious role. Yet do you see it that way?

Speaker 5 (03:41):
In many ways, I do.

Speaker 4 (03:42):
I think it combines a lot of different things that
I do.

Speaker 5 (03:44):
But in many ways it was asking things of me
that I hadn't done before, and so it was suited
to me.

Speaker 4 (03:52):
I don't know about u, Kate, if you feel the same,
I always want to feel a little bit of a
I don't know if I can pull this off. Like
It's not like I want something like I.

Speaker 5 (04:01):
Go, ah, I know exactly how to do this. I
want to dive into unknown waters a little bit. And
I think what's different about me now is I'm more
comfortable with not knowing how it's going to turn out
each scene each.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
Day, or the movie and and going on with that ride.

Speaker 5 (04:17):
And then that's for me. Back to your question, when
did I know? It was when I could communicate being vulnerable.
I'm not sure if I don't know how to do this,
and I could say it with my acting partner, with
my on you know, it was my colleague, and I
could just say the thing that I would normally have
kept to myself and ambitious for you too, Kate.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
Oh. Always, I mean it's like it's like saying It's
like saying to a ballplayer, like do you want to
play in the major leagues or not? You know, you
dedicate your whole life to something. What are the things?
And who do you want to be playing with?

Speaker 2 (04:52):
And what are the things?

Speaker 3 (04:52):
You you know, it's like, no, I want, I want
the ninety I want the ninety six mile power, you know, fastball.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
It's scary, but I want I want, I want in it.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
And uh and I think that's what always it gets
exciting about these things. And for me, I those opportunities
don't come often, and and and and and to be honest,
they don't make movies like this very often, so I'm
so grateful.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
And and and work. I love hard work.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
And I like work that gives me a little of
the you know, the uh, the the you know, the butterflies,
and and and then my and then you know, and
and then also it's like then when you're in it
and you're you're sort of you know, leaning in, you're

(05:48):
just the commitment to it and the sort of like
having to let go and being uninhibited is a very
liberating feeling. And so yeah, yeah, definitely enjoy the ambition
and the fears and you know, the butterflies and not that.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
Hugh the line about the movies. That was interesting. So
so I look at you, mister Wolverine, you know, and
I think to myself, that's modern movie making, isn't it
that sort of big picture, big budget whatever. But what
you've done here, I guess, is almost like movies of
the olden days.

Speaker 5 (06:19):
Yeah, you know, it does feel like that. And I've
both Kate and I have been a screening with some
people I don't name them without their permission, but people
big wigs in our business, and they're like, Ah, these
were the movie this is the movies we need, These
are the movies we used to make all the time.

Speaker 4 (06:35):
This is this And it does have that feeling and
it's funny. There is a line in the movie about nostalgia.
There is something nostalgic about it. It's an everyday couple.

Speaker 5 (06:44):
It's about some battler's you know, and seems like an
ordinary story, but it's actually so extraordinary within that. And
I have to tell you everybody turned the movie down.
Thirteen thirteen knows straight off, no way, Yeah, thirteen out
of thirteen. Actually, our producer John Davis has done one
hundred and seventeen movies. This is his number one, one

(07:06):
seven And he called in a favor. He just rang
Peter Kramer from Universe and said, you need to do me.
Figures what is it, Johnny, guess you're gonna make this movie?
And he goes, I haven't read a guess, just say yes.
He goes, okay, And that's how made unreal.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
Kate Kate, does it fit to sueduced? I mean, if
you look at so, this movie is the movie of
the documentary. The documentary is of real life. If you
had just simply written the plot with the details on
a piece of paper, there's no way you could have
got it past the studio, was there.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, you can't write it like what are you doing?

Speaker 3 (07:35):
List said, this can't be real, like, you know, you
gotta let's let's.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
Let's d it. Yeah, and then and and.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
Boy is it real every every step of the way.
I mean, what a wild, fascinating, what crazy life Mike
and Claire lived. And even the whole the line, you know,
lightning can strike twice, you know, it's that the fact

(08:07):
that they lived through all of that is just pretty remarkable.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
And makes for a great story, you know.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
And I think that Craig honored that them so wonderfully
by by walking such a great line of never getting.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
Too far down that you can't get out.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
And there's just he walks this sort of like line
of inspiration throughout the whole movie.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
And I think, you know, the one, the one thing.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
And I know he's watching, but like, if Mike could
see this movie, I mean it would just I feel
like I can see his face watching.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
Its not bad.

Speaker 5 (08:51):
I have a weed feeling. This is my feeling that
Mike the reason the movie is happening. He is Mike, Yeah,
likes that determination, like the never say no.

Speaker 4 (09:02):
I don't care if they any studios have turned it down.
This movie's happening, and it's happened.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
It's sort of his dedication, his dedication to his music,
his art, to Neil, to Claire, to the kids, taking
taking on those kids. You know, it's like he's so
he he was so dedicated. So yeah, that's the I
agree with you. It's like this idea that he is

(09:29):
the reason why this movie happened would make.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
A lot of sense.

Speaker 5 (09:33):
I just remember, I just remembered, Mike. I haven't shown
anyone this, but Claire Claire said. Claire gave me this
on the last and that's my actual hat from when
he went to see Neil Diamond.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
Oh that's that's incredible. Well, I'll tell you what. From
what I'm reading, we've got some Mosco buzz about this
as well. So so thank you too for joining us.
Good to catch up and good luck with it all.
Thanks Mine Gidson, Hugh Jackman. That was as you probably
heard on zoom. So we'll whack that up on the
old Where do we wak that up on the zibbie,
on the Facebook, on the website, on the social media

(10:10):
stuff that's out there. It'll be bad. If you're under sixteen,
don't watch it. Oh that's Australia.

Speaker 4 (10:17):
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast.

Speaker 5 (10:19):
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