Andrew Lloyd Webber brands movie adaption of Cats ‘ridiculous’
Andrew Lloyd Webber has branded the film adaption of his musical Cats “ridiculous”.
Since its world premiere in 1981, the musical Cats has become a worldwide hit with productions in over 30 countries seen by more than 70 million people.
A film adaption of the stage musical made its way to cinemas last December but was met with generally negative reviews and reportedly failed to make back its production budget.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Lloyd Webber said (via the Daily Mail): “The problem with the film 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,” he added.
The Cats movie featured an all star cast including Taylor Swift as Bombalurina, Ian McKellen as Gus the Theatre Cat, James Jordan as Bustopher Jones, Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella, Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots, Idris Elba as Macavity, Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy and Jason Derulo as Rum Tum Tugger.
With a score composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the musical tells the tale of a group of so-called Jellicle cats deciding who will ascend to the Heaviside Layer.
Featuring songs such as ‘Memory’, the cats each tell their stories at the Jellicle ball before one is chosen to be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.
