While filming “Song Sung Blue,” Ella Anderson spent many nights falling asleep with Neil Diamond’s “Soolaimon” playing in her head on repeat. “I just remember laying in my bed, and all I heard was his voice,” says Anderson, who stars in the musical film about a Neil Diamond tribute band led by Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman.
Anderson is hopeful that viewers will also leave the theater with Diamond’s songs — and the resilience of the film’s characters — lingering in their memories.
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Based on a true story, “Song Sung Blue” follows the relationship of two middle-age single parents in Wisconsin, both struggling gig musicians who join forces to form Neil Diamond tribute band “Lightning & Thunder.” Anderson stars in the film as Rachel, the teenage daughter of Hudson’s character, who is the “Thunder” to Jackman’s “Lightning.”
“Craig [Brewer; the director] brilliantly captured the perspective of Midwestern people who are musicians, that are oftentimes not playing for the massive crowds, but are playing for intimate crowds of real people who maybe had a long day at work, are grabbing a beer, and just wanna enjoy that connection that music can create in a room,” says Anderson, whose own parents are musicians from the Midwest.
The film is based on a 2008 documentary of the same title, which explores the impact of unexpected and devastating health challenges. Anderson felt “an immediate connection” to the script’s central story of perseverance and resilience.
“I was sure that there were embellishments, only to find when I watched the documentary that it’s all real. It all really happened,” says Anderson. “And that just lit a fire under me.”
Anderson describes her costars as “present and generous” on-set, with everyone committed to paying tribute to the real-life people they were portraying.
“Getting to work with Hugh and Kate, it was just a goldmine of things to be excited about and to dig into,” says Anderson. “There was zero ego there. There was only commitment to these people that we’re playing, and how can we render them accurately, and how can we do their story justice?” she adds. “And that inspired me every single day to commit the same amount, and to give as much of myself.”
“Song Sung Blue” is rooted in music, and similarly, Anderson describes music as “ingrained” in her own creative identity.
“As an artist, film is the center pillar, and every other part of my artistic identity just plays into that and compliments it in a way,” says Anderson, who released her first music EP in 2021.
“I never find myself working on a film where I don’t pull things from music or from visual arts,” she adds. “The very first time that I shared music with anyone was I wandered into my brother’s — who’s a sound engineer — music studio in the bedroom next to mine, and I started recording a song that I wrote on his bedroom carpet floor. And so I think that’s just an example of when things feel organic, that’s when they happen.”
The 20-year-old began her career as a child actress, starring in series for Disney and Nickelodeon. Earlier this year, she reprised her role in Nickelodeon’s “Henry Dagger” for a film adaptation of the comedy series. Other movie roles include 2024 Sundance film “Suncoast,” and the teenage version of Brie Larson’s main character in “The Glass Castle.”
Next year, Anderson stars opposite Juliette Lewis in “Jesus Land,” an adaptation of a bestselling memoir by Julia Scheeres. “It was just such an honor to play her,” says Anderson of portraying the author onscreen. “It was a really ‘boots in mud in the weeds’ experience.”
Beyond that, Anderson is “really focused on finding the next project that feels right,” she says. “And reading a lot of scripts. I’m just excited about making sure that feels like something I want to allow to consume all of my mind,” she adds. “It’s totally possible I might make some music while I’m in New York — or maybe I’ll work on a project where there are musical elements involved.”
The L.A.-based actress was getting ready to spend part of December in New York visiting her brothers, and spending time with family on the East Coast ahead of the Christmas Day release of “Song Sung Blue.”
The first time Anderson watched the film with a crowd was for the film’s premiere on the closing night of the American Film Institute Festival in October.
“To hear the authentic audience reactions and how much that they loved the film and how much that they felt it on a really visceral level, it makes me that much more excited for everyone on Christmas Day to see it in all the theaters across the nation,” she says.
Ella Anderson
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