It looks like even “Cats” composer Andrew Lloyd Webber wasn’t a fan of the film adaptation of his musical.
Speaking with UK’s Sunday Times, the award-winning musical theater composer, who served as an executive producer on the film, explained what he believes was the ultimate “problem” with the 2019 box-office flop, which Webber described as “ridiculous.”
While “Cats” the movie, a live-action/CGI hybrid adaptation of Webber’s musical of the same name, featured an all-star cast — including Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Judy Dench, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo and James Corden — it was ripped by both critics and fans alike. And Webber doesn’t seem to disagree with the reception.
“The problem with the film,” Webber said, “was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show. The whole thing was ridiculous.”
In the wake of “Cats'” disappointing release last December, several of the film’s stars expressed their regret — or lack thereof — about working on the project.
Taylor Swift, who co-wrote the Golden Globe-nominated song “Beautiful Ghosts” with Webber for the movie, said despite the film’s poor reception, she had “no complaints” about starring in the film.
“I’m happy to be here, happy to be nominated, and I had a really great time working on that weird-ass movie,” the pop star told Variety back in January. “I’m not gonna retroactively decide that it wasn’t the best experience. I never would have met Andrew Lloyd Webber or gotten to see how he works, and now he’s my buddy. I got to work with the sickest dancers and performers. No complaints.”
James Corden — who along with co-star Rebel Wilson mocked the film’s SFX during the 2020 Oscars — shared his thoughts on “Cats” during a round of his infamous late-night show segment “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” with Justin Bieber in February.
When Bieber asked Corden how much he regretted making the film on a scale of 1 to 10, the late-night host said, “Well, here’s the thing. I had the loveliest time making that film. You’ve got to decide things on your own personal experience and I had a really great time.”
“So I don’t regret doing it at all because I decided to do it in the same way that I’ve decided to do many things, some have worked and some haven’t,” he added.
However, Corden gave it a 4.5 on that scale, which tips it on the side of regret.
“Cats,” which reportedly lost Universal an estimated $113 million, received a score of 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
