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Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson play the singing duo from Milwaukee in the film

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson play the singing duo from Milwaukee in the film

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This story has been updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy and video will be added.

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson will star in a film based on a documentary about Milwaukee actors Mike and Claire Sardina, who appeared in a Neil Diamond/Patsy Cline tribute act called Lightning & Thunder.

Variety reported that production on “Song Sung Blue” began on Monday. The musical drama is directed by Craig Brewer, who worked on “Hustle & Flow” and the 2011 remake of “Footloose,” among others.

According to Variety, the film is an adaptation of “Song Sung Blue,” the 2008 documentary that told the story of Mike Sardina (aka Lightning), who died of a head injury in 2006, and his wife Claire Sardina (aka Thunder). who lost part of his leg after being hit by a car.

Filmmaker Greg Kohs, a fan of Neil Diamond, spent eight years making her story into a film. His documentary won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards for Best Documentary at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival.

The Sardinas began performing together in 1989 and married in 1994 at the Wisconsin State Fair, one of their regular performances. Her career highlights included performing Diamond’s hit “Forever in Blue Jeans” with Pearl Jam at Summerfest in 1995, a scene in which she was featured in the documentary.

The cast of the musical “Song Sung Blue,” which is produced by Focus Features and Davis Entertainment, also includes Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir and Hudson Hilbert Hensley, according to Variety.

Jackman, of course, is the co-star of 2024’s second-highest-grossing film, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” but he’s also made a name for himself as a musical star, from “The Greatest Showman” on the big screen to “The” on Broadway Boy From Oz” and “The Music Man”. Hudson, who was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for 2000’s “Almost Famous,” is releasing her debut album, “Glorious,” later this year.