For all the feline lovers, fans of the musical, or just the perversely curious: Universal has announced that the film version of Cats will utilize motion capture to create the movie’s feline characters.
The news came out of Cinema Con, the Hollywood trade show where studios often show sizzle reels to generate buzz for their upcoming releases. That appeared to be the strategy for the Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables) directed film, which brings the celebrated Andrew Lloyd Webber show to the silver screen. Though the footage shown at the convention didn’t show the final renderings of the movie’s characters, it did show behind the scenes footage of the performers wearing the standard dotted leotards used for motion capture filming. Hollywood used the same technique to realized characters like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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Cats has long toiled in so-called Development Hell. The popularity of the plotless dance musical made tinseltown interested in producing a movie version, with various directors like Steven Spielberg signing up for the project only to leave later on. Hooper’s version will feature Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson and Judi Dench, as well as Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and James Corden. The movie will hit cinemas this December.
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justgeo
Kinda destroys the whole point of the Show FD asshole producers.
davegun2
The worst play in the history of stage-show-business. Boring as hell, with only two good songs.
Ronbo
I don’t remember a second good song. And I was one of the few who didn’t leave at intermission!
RIGay
Best memories of my life were seeing “Cats” on stage (NY and Boston). Hope they don’t destroy it.
MacAdvisor
Sadly, I fear they will. Look what Hollywood did to A Chorus Line.
JobriathxBwoie
Definitely overrated as far as Webber musicals go.
I’ll only see it for Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen
Doug
It doesn’t take much forethought to guess that this movie will bomb.
OzJosh
It’s bound to be every bit as dire as the film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera. Lloyd Webber is clueless about film.
Jared MacBride
With very few exceptions, movies made from musicals suck.
Ronbo
Not a musical first; but, after being enchanted by “The Greatest Showman”, I’d go see it on stage, here, there and everywhere.
I thought it was just me… but the millions and millions of hits on youtube say otherwise.
wiley
Dear Movie Animal Veterinarian: Please euthanize this feral cat before it has kittens. I thought it had it’s 9th life and died when I saw it in the 80s.
Notindoctrinated
I’ve always found it amusing that a stereotype of gays, is that we have good taste and like musicals. Its impossible for both these things to be true at once.
oz1967
You might have a point never saw cats, walked out of le mis but thought phantom rocked and there the only musicals I have seen so now I am just confused.