I don’t feel like we spent enough time talking about the disaster that was Cats. It’s a movie that came out three months ago and stars big names like Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and Jennifer Hudson. The film cost nearly $100 million before marketing and is notorious for having its original version replaced with a newer one that had improved visual effects. Seriously, they released it in an unfinished state.
Of course, another star in the pic is Academy Award winner Dame Judi Dench and while talking with BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, she revealed that not only has she not seen the film, but she isn’t even aware of the overwhelmingly negative reaction to it.
“No, I haven’t seen it. “I didn’t read anything about the response to it, nor have I seen it, and I’ve only seen a picture of myself.”
I think she’s better off not going down that rabbit hole. Cats is already a notorious flop and some of the cast members were quick to disown it. James Corden and Rebel Wilson famously appeared at the Oscars this year dressed in cat suits, emphasizing the importance of GOOD VISUAL EFFECTS. And honestly, their outfits were better than the CGI.
The movie was clearly a paycheck for Dench, too, and who can blame her? In fact, this reminds me of a hilarious Michael Caine quote who when asked about starring in Jaws: The Revenge, said:
“I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”
No doubt his appearance in the 2015 classic, The Last Witch Hunter, yielded a beachfront property.
Unfortunately, Cats is yet another indictment of Hooper’s The King’s Speech taking Best Picture and Best Director from The Social Network and David Fincher back in 2010. Don’t get me wrong, The King’s Speech is actually better than I thought it would be, but The Social Network is transcendent. We were talking about it in the moment, five years later and even more so today. When was the last time anyone had a conversation about The King’s Speech?
In any case, it’ll be interesting to see how much more pull Hooper has in the industry after Cats. You’re only as good as your last movie, after all, and he’s certainly got some work to do.
