STACK #258 April 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

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HANGING WITH NEIL DIAMOND, AND SONG SUNG BLUE Fun Fact: Neil Diamond’s song Song Sung Blue was inspired by the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto #21 . GENRE: Musical romance RUN TIME: 2h 13m

Talking to STACK in LA, Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson discuss making the Oscar-nominated Song Sung Blue and having a cuppa with Neil Diamond.

I f Hugh Jackman has been singing his entire adult life, then he was unprepared to meet his match in Kate Hudson. Together, they make beautiful harmony in Song Sung Blue , based on two real-life down-on-their-luck musicians whose joyous Neil Diamond tribute band proved it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams. “We really bonded as people, as actors,” Jackman, 57, says of his co-star who received a 'Best Supporting Actress' Oscar nod for her role. “But there was one day when we were sitting on the couch, and they just put a mic in front of us and recorded us – and that's when I got the chills; that’s when I knew, musically, we would blend.” Likewise Hudson knew their beautiful tear jerking duets would work perfectly on film. “The studio is a very vulnerable place because they're

picking up everything from your voice. And as artists, you don’t like certain things, but you have to try things and be really open. So, it was a great entry point for us to break open a bit and be vulnerable with each other.” The real Neil Diamond also opened his door to the Australian actor ahead of production. “You don't see a lot of commercials using Neil’s songs. He doesn't give it up easily, but he just loved this story,” says Jackman. “And so I said to him. 'Oh, I'd love to come over for a cuppa and talk about it'. This is a very Australian thing, by the way! “So, we had dinner and then the karaoke machine came out, and I was just like, 'Please,

Hugh and Kate at the LA premiere

Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman

someone video this!' And we did, and his first song was: I Dreamed a Dream . Then we sang Canada,

Falling in Love with You and Sweet Caroline . And at one point he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. It was just this beautiful moment.” Gill Pringle

• Song Sung Blue is out Apr 8

The 4K will be available on May 25

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Blue Moon, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Elvis

GENRE: Drama RUN TIME: 2h 5m

OSCAR GLORY! JESSIE BUCKLEY SOARS IN HAMNET JESSIE BUCKLEY

Taking home the 'Best Actress' Oscar for her performance in Hamnet was the crowning triumph for Jessie Buckley, 36, who has won the award from every movie voting body this year.

Director Chloé Zhao and Jessie Buckley

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal

B orn in Ireland, the eldest of five, her family were even flown out for the shining moment when their big sister would become the first ever Irish actress to take home the 'Best Actress' Oscar for her passionate portrayal of Agnes, aka Mrs Shakespeare. And even if her screen partner – Paul Mescal as the Bard himself - has been passed up for awards for his own role, then Buckley is the first to admit that she couldn’t have done it without him. “I love that man. I've been very lucky to work with great partners in my life, and I think he might be the best,” she says. “You know, the chemistry is just there. I knew Paul a little bit. I knew his work.

I respected him so much. But when we did our first chemistry read, what was so exciting was the possibility, there was just a crackle there and immediate trust,” says Buckley, who currently has an altogether different screen husband with Christian Bale’s Frankenstein in The Bride! . “And it's rare that you meet somebody like that, and it's rare that you meet a male co-lead like that, where you think, 'I'm going to meet you so many times throughout my life, and we're going to have growth together'.” In common with millions of readers, Buckley was enchanted by Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 Hamnet best-seller, about William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes,

and their son Hamnet dying, aged 11, from the bubonic plague. The fictionalised story explores the profound grief experienced by his parents, and the impact of this loss on their family and on Shakespeare's choice to write Hamlet . Moved to tears after reading Chloe’s script, Buckley recalls, “I was like ‘This is the woman I’ve been looking for. Agnes is untethered, free, deeply curious, like a kind of rye whiskey, mischievous, hungry, beautiful soul of a woman’. I just love her. She’s like one of those people I wanted to be my new best friend.” Gill Pringle

• Hamnet is out Apr 22

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Hamlet, Tár, Wicked Little Letters, Wuthering Heights, Emma

24 APRIL 2026

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