Hollywood’s latest feel-good flick has hit a sour note with the very family it claims to honor.
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star in "Song Sung Blue," a film inspired by the real-life Neil Diamond tribute band "Lightning & Thunder," but the children of the band’s late frontman, Mike "Lightning" Sardina, are sounding the alarm over what they call a gross misrepresentation of their father’s legacy and their family’s story.
The movie draws from the lives of Mike Sardina Sr. and Claire "Thunder" Sardina, a couple who captivated audiences with their tribute act.
Mike Sardina Jr. and his sister Angelina, the children of the late performer, are not holding back their frustration with how the film portrays their father and excludes key parts of their lives.
Mike Jr. claims he was deliberately left out of the narrative, despite being a central figure in his father’s journey, while Angelina laments that the film fails to capture the spiritual depth of their dad’s performances.
Both siblings also point to a paltry $30,000 payment for their consulting work on the project, a sum they feel does not match the emotional and historical weight of their contribution.
“The only thing that was true is the love between my dad and Claire,” Angelina Sardina told Fox News Digital, her words dripping with disappointment over a story she feels strays far from reality.
That love might be the only anchor in a sea of fiction, as the siblings argue the film glosses over the real tensions of their upbringing and misses the essence of their father’s stage presence, particularly his heartfelt talks on recovery and support for struggling fans.
Hollywood’s tendency to sanitize gritty truths for mass appeal seems to be at play here, turning a complex family tale into a polished product that leaves the real descendants feeling cheated.
Adding salt to the wound, Mike Jr. and Angelina were invited to the New York City premiere in early December but were instructed to steer clear of the stars and media, a move that screams of calculated dismissal.
Meanwhile, Claire Sardina, Mike Sr.’s widow, along with her children from a prior marriage, Dayna and Rachel, have embraced the film, even joining Jackman and Hudson for photo ops and on-stage performances.
This stark contrast in treatment raises eyebrows—why celebrate one side of the family while silencing the other, unless the goal is to control the narrative and avoid uncomfortable questions?
Despite the family discord, "Song Sung Blue" has raked in $13.6 million at the global box office, with Hudson earning a Golden Globe nod for best actress in a comedy or musical.
Producer John Fox, in a text to Angelina, expressed regret over the siblings’ lack of input, stating, “I totally understand, and I'm sorry, know it's not the most ideal situation.” But sympathy via text hardly compensates for what Mike Jr. and Angelina see as a theft of their father’s hard-earned legacy for profit.
As the film garners acclaim, it’s worth asking whether Tinseltown’s obsession with heartwarming tales trumps the duty to honor real lives with honesty, especially when the subjects’ own kin feel so deeply betrayed by the final cut.
