Director Craig Brewer reveals Eddie Vedder’s pivotal role in making ‘Song Sung Blue’ happen
In an exclusive interview with Far Out, American filmmaker Craig Brewer revealed exactly how Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder helped out in the making of Song Sung Blue.
Brewer’s latest movie, Song Sung Blue, sees Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson take on Thunder and Lightning, the duo who made up the real-life Neil Diamond tribute act.
Based on a true story, the film follows the married pair as they rose to incredible heights before tragedy struck them down. One incredible moment in 1995 saw Thunder and Lightning play alongside Pearl Jam.
In the movie, they open for the Eddie Vedder-fronted band, while in real life, they played as part of the encore at Milwaukee’s Summerfest. It is a joyous, pivotal moment in the film, as the audience goes wild while the pair sing Diamond’s classic ‘Forever in Blue Jeans’ with Vedder.
Brewer revealed to Far Out that Vedder has always been a champion of Thunder and Lightning’s story, which was shared with the world in a 2009 documentary, also titled Song Sung Blue.
Brewer shared, “The publishing company sent a cease and desist letter to the filmmaker, but then Eddie heard about that, called up Neil Diamond”, and, from there, Diamond himself approved of their story.
In the new movie, Brewer uses the Pearl Jam song, ‘Alive’, as a pertinent narrative tool, suggestive of emotional rebirth and resilience. This was an incredible feat as Brewer told Far Out, “Pearl Jam has never licensed that song or anything off their first album.”
He continued, “It’s an automatic ‘No’, but [Vedder] loves the story of Lightning and Thunder so much that he let us use it. He just loves their story.”
Song Sung Blue is in cinemas now. Watch the official trailer below.
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