'Song Sung Blue' Interview: Director Craig Brewer

Moviefone speaks with director Craig Brewer about 'Song Sung Blue'. "It's a movie about people that aren't in the spotlight," the filmmaker said.

'Song Sung Blue' writer and director Craig Brewer'.

Opening in theaters on December 25th is the new movie ‘Song Sung Blue’, which is based on the documentary of the same name and tells the true story of Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder.

Written and directed by Craig Brewer (‘Dolemite Is My Name’), the film stars Hugh Jackman (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’), Kate Hudson (‘Almost Famous’), Michael Imperioli (‘Goodfellas), and Jim Belushi (‘Thief’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Craig Brewer about his work on ‘Song Sung Blue’, the documentary that inspired it, developing the screenplay, why Hugh Jackman recommended Kate Hudson for the film, and their on-screen chemistry together.

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Director Craig Brewer during the production of 'Song Sung Blue', a Focus Features release. Credit: Sarah Shatz/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to watching the documentary, the challenges of adapting it into a screenplay, and why you wanted to tell this story as a filmmaker?

Craig Brewer: Well, I think that I was fooled a little bit. I think I went into this documentary thinking I was just going to watch of a fluffy movie about a Neil Diamond tribute band and I was rooting for this couple as they went about their journey with it. But then suddenly this amazing story with tragedy and commitment to each other and love and family started to unfold. I just felt like, oh, this movie is really about the kind of people that I’m gravitating to in my work. It was about four years after ‘Hustle & Flow’ and it took a long time for people to even bend their mind around the idea of doing that movie. Like, “What could we possibly have in common with a pimp who wants to be a rap artist?” But really, people find that they're relating to the characters if you treat them with respect and with honesty and try to remove some cynicism from it. I just thought that this story, if someone would trust me enough to do this, that you can take all the music of Neil Diamond, all the lyrics that I think are about being isolated, about being lost and trying to find your way, and put it into a movie that's really inspiring about people that aren't in the spotlight.

(L to R) Kate Hudson as Claire Sardina and Hugh Jackman as Mike Sardina in director Craig Brewer's 'Song Sung Blue', a Focus Features release. Credit: Sarah Shatz/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, I understand that Hugh Jackman recommended Kate Hudson for this role. Can you talk about that and their incredible on-screen chemistry together?

CB: I got a text from Hugh saying, “Kate is Claire. Claire is Kate. Check out this interview that she's doing on television.” I've been trying to make a movie with Kate for about 20 years. I've been to her house on three different occasions with three different scripts. I always found her to be an incredible actress, but also just a delightful person that I wanted to be around. Then when I got that message from Hugh, and I saw this television interview with Kate, she was tearing up because she was at a different place in her life. Her son was going off to college, and I was like, well, that can't be right, I remember when that boy was a baby or a toddler. Then it suddenly hit me. We're older. We've had marriages. We've had divorces. We've had life. We've had a lot of stuff happened to us since you last saw Kate. I also saw that she wanted to sing. She was going to, I wouldn't say leave Hollywood behind, but she was going to really take a break and start writing songs, going on tour, and playing gigs. I thought, is it just me or is Kate basically auditioning for this movie without even knowing about it? So, she got the script, all three of us got on a Zoom together and I think the three of us basically decided that we're the ones to make this movie. So, we moved forward with incredible trust and confidence.

(L to R) Hugh Jackman as Mike Sardina and Kate Hudson as Claire Stengl in director Craig Brewer's 'Song Sung Blue', a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

What is the plot of ‘Song Sung Blue’?

Based on a true story, two down-on-their-luck musicians (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson) form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams.