Right, so it’s musical specialist Craig Gillespie directing a Neil Diamond-centric drama about celebrity impersonators, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson? You had us at hello.
How to watch Song Sung Blue in New Zealand
Song Sung Blue is screening exclusively in New Zealand cinemas from January 1, 2026.
What is Song Sung Blue about?
We’re diving into the odd world of celebrity singing impersonators, where two down-on-their-luck performers, Mike and Claire, find some measure of success as the duo “Lightning and Thunder”. It’s a true story, more or less; the 2008 documentary of the same title is a little more “warts and all”, digging into the arguably delusional hubris it takes to adopt someone else’s stage persona as your entire bit. Brewer’s film ups the romance and the stardust, as well as offering us the Boy From Oz doing a pretty killer take on legendary crooner Neil Diamond.
The cast of Song Sung Blue
Hugh Jackman is Mike Sardina, AKA “Lightning”; Kate Hudson is Claire Sardina AKA “Thunder”; Ella Anderson is Rachel Cartwright, Claire’s daughter; King Princess is Angelina Sardina, Mike’s daughter; Hudson Hensley is Dayna Cartwright, Claire’s son; Michael Imperioli is Mark Shurilla, a Buddy Holly impersonator turned guitarist; Mustafa Shakir is Sex Machine, a James Brown impersonator; Jayson Warner Smith is Earl; Fisher Stevens is Dave Watson; and Jim Belushi is Tom D’Amato, Mike and Claire’s manager.
Song Sung Blue trailer
Why we’re excited about Song Sung Blue
The real pair had a little cult success with their actual careers, opening for Pearl Jam at the request of Eddie Vedder at one point. Brewer and the gang clearly have Oscar aspirations here and hey – that might be a bad bet. All other considerations put to one side, the soundtrack alone ought to be worth ponying up a few bucks for at your local cinema.
