Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman are currently starring in the 2025 movie, Song Sung Blue about Claire and Mike Sardina, the Neil Diamond tribute performers.
The son of Claire and Mike Sardina, Michael Sardina Jr. is up in arms about the movie Song Sung Blue involving the Neil Diamond tribute singers. The movie, starring Hudson and Jackman recently premiered at AMC Lincoln Square Theater in New York City.
Song Sung Blue is supposed to tell the real-life story of Claire and Mike Sardina, Neil Diamond tribute performers. However, according to Mike’s real-life son, Michael, from his second marriage to Diane Annunziata, the film features fabricated storylines and excluded him, despite his family involvement. While Claire Sardina has supported the movie all along, “Song Sung Blue” faces criticism from her son for inaccuracy.
Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman star as the real-life Neil Diamond tribute performers, Claire and Mike Sardina in the movie, which has been a hit at the box office. However, while it is doing well at the box office, Mike’s 41-year-old son, Michael Sardina Jr. has slammed the movie, claiming it was built on lies and saying his father would be “rolling over in his grave.”
The 2025 movie follows the couple meeting each other and their rise to popularity as the Neil Diamond tribute band, Lightning & Thunder. The script details their personal stories as the couple fell in love, married, had their son, and faced their own hardships.
SONG SUNG BLUE (2025). Maybe I’m a sucker but I was in near tears for nearly the entire run time. Probably the most emotionally invested I got in a film this year. Hugh Jackman & Kate Hudson give incredible lead performances. Neil Diamond, I love you. Sleeper classic right here. pic.twitter.com/1qRjd60FqN
— Tony Tost (@tonytost) January 2, 2026
Speaking with The Daily Mail, Sardina Jr. reveals the film has purposely cut him out and features fabricated storylines and characters.
“Everybody thinks it’s such a wonderful film, it’s so touching. It’s all lies,” he said. “And it steals all the hard work that my father put in his entire life…”
Reportedly, Sardina Jr. was originally approached to be a consultant on the movie, alongside input from his sister, Angelina. That interview includes details from conversations between Angelina and the film’s producer, John Fox, and confirming the monetary price for their involvement.
Meanwhile, the interview reveals that Angelina had authorized for her persona in the movie to be fictionalized, while her brother was “purposely cut out of the film.”
“Every interview that those monsters have been on national television don’t even mention my existence at all, even though I was the most prevalent force in my father’s life, even when I wasn’t in Wisconsin, because I’m his only son,” he said, adding that he was paid “a pathetic $30,000 to be a “consultant” on the movie.
“They didn’t even try to contact me,” he added. “They didn’t try to get more information… They could have very easily asked Craig [Brewer].”
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Moreover, Sardina Jr. also claims that the Hudson and Jackman movie fails to depict the real-life tensions between his parents, calling the lies in the movie “upsetting.” He further said the lack of authenticity has “completely destroyed the one thing my father worked his entire life to pass on – his legacy.”
However, despite the drama, Claire has shown her full support for the movie from its inception, and has attended red carpet premieres, and has sung alongside Jackman in a cover of the Diamond song, Sweet Caroline.
