Source: Entertainment Weekly

Theirs is a meet-cute for the ages: Claire Stengl, decked out in country-western attire, is about to perform as Patsy Cline at the Wisconsin State Fair; Mike Sardina, with his long sideburns and decked out in his worn black leather jacket, is refusing to perform as Don Ho — but one thing he can’t resist is talking to her.

The duo, played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, have just met, but the sparks are immediate, as seen in Entertainment Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek at Mike and Claire’s true story in Song Sung Blue (in theaters Dec. 25), above.

“He’s probably at his lowest and embarrassed moment. But these two can’t stop looking at each other. There is just this electrifying moment after they’ve been doing small talk about what he could be, and she’s being very positive when he’s feeling really down,” explains writer-director Craig Brewer of the scene, which finds Claire offering suggestions to Mike for singers he could impersonate, including Frank Sinatra and Neil Diamond. Mike scoffs at the latter; he’s too big a fan and wouldn’t want anyone to think he’s a joke.

As Claire, in a brunette Patsy Cline wig and red cowboy hat, turns to take the stage, she comments on her desire to impersonate Dolly Parton, if only her “boobs were just a bit bigger.” It’s not the comment about her breasts that gets Mike’s attention. Instead, he questions, “You’re a blonde?”

After whipping her head back around to look at him, she quips, “Oh, boy, am I,” followed by a sly, flirty grin.

“I find it’s the most…” Brewer pauses to laugh, “…erotic-twinged moment of electricity that only Kate could understand. By saying, ‘Oh, boy, am I.’ ‘Oh, boy, am I’ as an answer to, ‘Are you a blonde?, I think is something that only blondes understand. Like, you have no idea what it is to be me — that is a blonde right here, buddy. And, he’s just so electrified watching her walk away with such confidence, but also that million-watt smile that only Kate Hudson can do, where who can’t just right then and there fall in love with her. And the woman hasn’t even opened her mouth yet to sing.”

Brewer first heard about the pair thanks to a 2008 documentary, also titled Song Sung Blue, after the Diamond tune. To explain their life story here would spoil the movie, but as is the case in real life, things aren’t always sunshine and roses for the Sardinas — one wildly unexpected event turns their world upside down.

“I was seeing a very clear representation of honesty, of sincerity, lack of cynicism, and perhaps, a beautiful dose of outrageousness, that they would decide to go after this type of a dream together, as well as start a family together and, also have a second chance at marriage, and trying to do something better in their life, especially with both of them dealing with their own demons,” Brewer recalls of the what he saw in the couple.

“This is actually what a real love story is,” he adds. “You have this fantastic beginning to a relationship. There’s music, there’s fireworks, and then you decide to share a life with each other and share a home with each other. And then life starts happening, and that’s when tragedy starts to happen. That’s when heartbreak begins to happen. And the idyllic dream of what you went into with rose-tinted glasses begins to get cracks in them.”

Getting Jackman, no stranger to stage and movie musicals, to play Mike was an easy decision for the director.

“Hugh is actually one of the most genuine people, and there’s no hidden agenda or anything like that. He really does care about his audience and loves them deeply and wants them, truly in his heart, wants his audience and the world to be happy and to be content and to feel good about themselves,” Brewer says. “This role somehow aligned with his true philosophy. I tell people, ‘He loves to be a showman.’ Some would say he’s the greatest showman, right? And he really is. He’s wonderful with the claws coming out of the knuckles, and he can give you riveting action performances, but that man loves to entertain. He loves to have a mic in his hand.”

Brewer, whose directing credits also include Hustle & Flow, Footloose, and Dolemite Is My Name, has wanted to work with Hudson for over a decade. He finally got his shot.

“Have you really ever met anybody that when you bring up Kate Hudson, they don’t all say, ‘I love her.’ That’s something that you not only have to earn with the work that you do and the performances that you make, but you also earn it with your off time,” the director says, crediting the actress with having the rare combo of star quality and feeling like audiences’, especially women’s, best friend.

“Sometimes it’s being in those interviews where she talks about embarrassing things about being a mom or about love or about where she’s gone wrong with relationships or marriages, and you’re just like, how is this really strong, self-possessed woman able to actually speak about vulnerabilities and somehow come out of it feeling strong? Maybe I feel that way too,” he adds.

Casting two of the most magnetic stars in the world doesn’t, of course, automatically guarantee sparks. Brewer admits it was a “big question: When you get them in a frame together, staring into each other’s eyes, is there going to be that spark?”

They got their answer very early, shooting photos of the two in costume as Thunder and Lightning before the start of filming, to use in the movie. “To see people [on set] smiling, going, ‘I didn’t know about Kate and Hugh, but look at them, they’re magic together. I just believe it,'” Brewer recalls, “and we hadn’t even started filming yet — we’re like, this is already working.”

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