Last year it was Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan.
This fall we’re preparing for Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen.
But there’s another music movie out there in stealth mode, getting ready to pounce on us.
That’s Craig Brewer’s “Song Sung Blue,” set for Christmas Day release by Universal.
Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman play a down on their luck couple who perform as a Neil Diamond duo. They sing a bunch of Neil Diamond’s songs including the title track as punctuation to their own story.
Hudson — who was nominated for an Oscar in “Almost Famous” 25 years ago — has been on the move in the last year with a successfully revived music career. She can saing, as my late friend Sam Moore used to say. Coming back after a quarter century to the Oscars would be Kate’s triumph.
Jackman, obviously, is a Music Man. With a lot of Broadway credits including that recent hit musical, Jackman has been playing weekend dates at Radio City Music Hall all year. He’s an enthusiastic warbler with a big following. Think of Wolverine giving up howling for “Sweet Caroline.”
Director Brewer knows his way around a music movie. His signature hit was “Hustle and Flow,” which won an Oscar for its song in 2006. Among his other credits is the rebooted “Footloose,” and many music videos for stars like Katy Perry.
The key to “Song Sung Blue” is that it’s not a biopic of Neil Diamond. It’s more like the great about-the-Beatles Danny Boyle film, “Yesterday.”
Could these two big name performers — Hudson and Jackman — be sitting on a winner? Right now, the buzz is like your phone on vibrate. Wait until it starts ringing.
