Courtesy of Focus Features
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Kate Hudson tells PEOPLE about leading Song Sung Blue, a biopic about a real-life Neil Diamond tribute band
Performing and getting to know Diamond's music was new for Hudson, who says he "wasn't someone that I grew up with"
"Having Neil Diamond's music as the backdrop to play these real-life people, who just were such fans," says the Golden Globe nominee, was "wonderful"
Kate Hudson's musical tastes have expanded thanks to none other thanNeil Diamond.
The legendary songwriter "wasn't someone that I grew up with," theGolden Globe-nominatedstar ofSong Sung Blueadmits to PEOPLE in this week's issue. "So it was a nice discovery for me to get to know his music."
Hudson got to know the rocker's music and then some as Claire Sardina, half of the real-life husband-and-wife duo who paid tribute to the "Sweet Caroline" singer by forming a tribute band in the late 1980s.
StarringHugh Jackmanand Hudson, 46, as Mike and Claire Sardina, a.k.a. Milwaukee's Lightning & Thunder,Song Sung Blueshowcases the two actors performing many of Diamond's hit songs.
"Having Neil Diamond's music as the backdrop to play these real-life people, who just were such fans," says Hudson, was "wonderful. And then, watching the movie was just such a joy… I felt like it has a little bit of everything in it. It's entertaining, but you walk away feeling inspired."
Courtesy of Focus Features
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"I love that it lacks cynicism. There's something really pure about this movie," says Hudson. "It delivers something unexpected to an audience."
Spoilers forSong Sung Blue's true story follow: Written and directed by Craig Brewer and based on Greg Kohs' documentary of the same name, the biopic chronicles the rise of Lightning & Thunder amid the duo's romance and hardships. That includes Claire losing part of her leg in a freak car accident and Mike dying in 2006 at age 55 from cardiac issues.
The actress-musicianhas become close with the real-life Sardina family, including Claire and her kids Rachel and Dayna Cartwright (played onscreen by Ella Anderson and Hudson Hensley). Thanks toSong Sung Blue, she has since met the man behind the music; in August, the star visited Diamond, 84, at his Colorado home.
Courtesy of Focus Features
"Just sitting on the porch with @neildiamond sharing all kinds of stories," Hudson wrote in an OctoberInstagram postshowing the two of them smiling and talking together. "Sweet Neil, we love you! Thank you for sharing your music with us and for supporting our film."
Song Sung Blueis in theaters Dec. 25.
Read the original article onPeople
