Song Sung Blue, Thursday, 1/8 (film starts at 6:00; meet between 5:40-5:55)

BACKGROUND: I have only been to three in-person meetups with the AFI Cinema group before but somehow I have nevertheless managed to become a group co-organizer. (Go figure...) Want to see upcoming films in person? Me too.

ABOUT THE FILM: This is AFI's page on Song Sung Blue if you want to see the preview, director, actors, etc.: https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005378. The film has a 77% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but 98% on their "popcornmeter" audience rating. To quote from the Washington Post: "You’d be forgiven for thinking 'Song Sung Blue' is a Neil Diamond biopic.... But the new film is a far more interesting addition to the genre. Rather than centering on Diamond himself, it follows Milwaukee couple Mike (Hugh Jackman) and Claire Sardina (Kate Hudson) as they pay tribute to the singer with their 1990s cover band Lightning & Thunder. The musical biopic features Jackman's impression of a man known for doing a different impression, an oddly meta premise that sets the effort apart." If you care about nominations: Nominee, Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Kate Hudson), 2026 Golden Globes.

MEETING UP: The showtime is next Thursday the 8th at AFI at 6:00. I'm looking to arrive by 5:40 and wait in the lobby immediately outside the theater. (I don't plan on having a Meetup sign or other identifying accoutrements; hopefully I look enough like my Meetup picture to be recognizable.) My thought is to go in and get seats around five minutes before the scheduled start time, so if you arrive later than that, go in the theater and look for me (and any other attendees) there.

AFTER THE FILM: Following the three past in-person AFI group Meetup films that I have been to some of the attendees went to a place to eat nearby to chat about the film and films in general. If there is interest on Thursday we can also go get something to eat or drink nearby afterwards and do the same. We can figure that out in the lobby right outside the film after the credits end. It seems that the film should be ending around 8:20 (hopefully that isn't too late given that it's a work night).