Francesca Rudkin: Song Sung Blue and My Brother's Band

Song Sung Blue 

Starring Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman. Two down-on-their-luck performers form a Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams. 

In cinemas January 1st.

 

My Brother’s Band  

French film. Conductor Thibaut discovers he has leukaemia and needs a bone marrow donor. Learning of his adoption, he finds an older brother who works in a factory. Their reunion leads to a musical journey as the town faces a factory closure. 

In cinemas December 26th.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edbrove there, but they has come in.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Again scene.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
We start Anywhere, Scene.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Twenty five to ten on News talks 'b So. The
short lists just been released for twelve categories at the Oscars,
and that song Drive by Ed Sheeran made it into
the shortlist for Best Original Song. It's from that if
One movie. Ryan Coogler's film Sinners was dominant in the
yearly shortlist with seven recognitions. Time now to get your

(01:03):
film picks for the weekend. Francesca Rudkin is here with
us this morning.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Good morning, it's good morning.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
So our first film this morning. I doesn't actually hit
cinemas until January first, but I know a lot of
people have been waiting for this one. So let's have
a little listen to songs sung blue.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
I'm not a songwriter, I'm not a sex symbol. We
just want to entertain people. I don't want to be
a hairdresser. I want to sing, I want to dance.
I want a garden, I want a cat. What do
you think?

Speaker 3 (01:29):
You don't want to be a Neil Diamond impersonator.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
You want to be a Neil Diamond interpreter. I was
looking for the right way to see and you just
came right out and said.

Speaker 3 (01:41):
That is Hugh Jackman. Kate Hudson stars and songs sung
Blue as well. Tell us about it, Franzi ski.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Okate, how since she has been nominated for Best Performance
by a Female and Emotion Picture Musical or Comedy at
the Golden Globes. And I'm really excited about this because
Hugh Jackman, we know that he's a showman, right, we
know he can sing and dance and act, and that
if you if you gave him a role as an impersonator,
he'd absolutely nail it. So here's exactly what we expect.
But Kate Hudson, she is a real revelation in this

(02:09):
film and it sort of takes me back to almost famous.
This is probably my next favorite role she's had. And
she is just divine. She is so charismatic. She's a
charismatic performer. She actually has released an album. She can sing,
She has released an album which a lot of people
might not know and not too long ago, yeah, not
too long ago. But look, she she just takes on

(02:32):
this character of clear she's a hairdress or a divorcee
and mother of two. She's prone to about some depression.
It's music that keeps her grounded and happy. And this
is actually based on a true story. So it's based
on a true story of there's two people who meet
at the Wisconsin State Fair in the in the eighties.
The costumes are fantastic and the hairstyles are fantastic. They
meet and they're both performers. They kind of work. They

(02:56):
do the circuit, you know, performing as different artists and things,
sort of the impersonation sort of set up. They meet
and they fall in love, and they've both got a
lot of baggage there, you know, I don't know, late forties,
thirty fifties or something, and they've got their baggage in
their lives and they come together and it's this beautiful
love story and they decide to sort of create the

(03:17):
Neo Diamond experience and they start to really take off
in Milwaukee, and they even are asked to open for
Pearl Jam, which is hilarious because they you know, Jetman's
character doesn't make you know who pel Jam is. Mike
doesn't know who pel Jam is anyway. So that's this
wonderful story. But they deal with a lot of tragedy.
They deal with some crazy things which happened, which you

(03:38):
kind of watching the film going really did this happen?
But it did all happen, and so they have a
lot of highs and lows, and so sort of we
follow this love story as an unfold. This is a
film that will have you laughing, it will have you singing,
It will probably have you crying. But at the end
of the day, they do a really nice job of
making it a rousing crowd pleaser as well as a

(04:01):
bit of a tear jerky, you know, and you can't
help but sing along. I took my sixteen year old daughter,
who told tolerated the Neil Diamond and loved it and
got into it. But of course this is I think
has probably aimed more at my mother's generation like that.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
Okay, that was my question, because if I'm one hundred
percent honest with you, I'm not a huge Neil Diamond fan.
It's just a bit on the nose for me, you know.
And so yeah, just a little bit on the nose
for me. But look each to their own, you know.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
I kind of grew hot. August Night was kind of
the background to my very early childhood, so I've kind
of got a fondness for it. But look, their performances
are great, and as I say, this is a film
about hope, about following your dreams no matter what age
you are, Like there's a lot more to it, so
you know, but there is a lot of Neil Diamond.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah, very good, okay this morning, No, But I mean,
like I can, I can lean into the feel good
side of things as well. But good to know, thank you.
So that song sung Blue that hits cinemas on January first,
stars Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman. Next up hitting cinemas
I think on Boxing Day this year the twenty sixth
tell us about my brother's band.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
So this is a French film. It was a huge
hit in France. It was nominated for seven ces Our Awards.
It follows two brothers who were separated when they were
just babies and they're reunited as adults and they kind
of managed to reunite for music. There's a bit of
a theme with my films today. This is also a
very charming, crowd pleaser. It does deal with some quite

(05:27):
deep themes, but look, the film doesn't delve into them.
Really deeply enough to turn this into a heavy experience.
Director Emmanuel Cocole has very much kind of tried to
sort of present this story with a lightness to it.
We have this wonderful character, Tibo, and here's a world

(05:48):
famous conductor. He comes from a very well to do family.
At the beginning of the film, he discovers he has leukemia.
He needs a bone marrow transplant. Then he discovers his
family is not his family and that he was adopted.
He discovers he has a younger brother, Jimmy, and he
goes and asked him for help to get a transplant. Now,
this all happens very quickly, and then we kind of

(06:09):
move on from this scenario. This is a setup, and
the majority of the film is focused on getting to
know that these two characters, getting to know each other
and navigating how to be in each other's lives and
accepting their fate. So tip he ended up in a
very well to do family, he had all the opportunities

(06:30):
in the world, and he's now the well famous director.
His brother, who also has pitch perfect hearing and is
also very musical, lives in this very small industrial town
and has quite a different life, and so the two
of them have to sort of reconcile how some adults
made a decision which impacted their lives so differently. It's

(06:50):
kind of a little bit. It's been described a little
bit as a French as a French version of brass Off.
It's a film about how music unites us some things,
but it's another crowd pleaser that might just bring a
little tear to their eye as well.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
Very good.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Cool.

Speaker 3 (07:06):
So that's my brother's band that hits cinemas on December
twenty sixth. Francisca's first pick for us this weekend. It
was song Sung Blue that is in cinemas on January first.
All of the details for those movies will be on
the News talksb website. Have a fantastic summer, Francisco. You're
going to be going on some ridiculous ultra marathon or something.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
Knowing you no, Jack got the dodgy n oh. I'm
living the adventures till a little later in next year.
So no, but Merry Christmas to you. I hope you
have a lovely time. It's your family.

Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah you too, Thank you so much, Francisca. Francisca Rudkin
with her film picks for us this weekend.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News talks 'b from nine am Saturday, or follow
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