Oddest choice of all is not utilising the current state of the art for cinema sound with its amazing ability for massive soundscapes. Instead we often get thin eighties sounding synth line based music. Also very few of the cast members have strong voices, with the exception of Jennifer Hudson who gets to belt out the thrice repeated hit, Memories.

Keeping things very stagy, most of the cast is adapt at the sinuous physicality and dance movements needed to ply the boards and bright lights. There is also a reliance on keeping the action of the large cast to a minimum number of sets. To highlight where the film’s main priorities lie is the casting of Francesca Hayward, a Royal Ballet Principal Ballerina as the female lead, Victoria. Her on-screen gracefulness is something to behold.

This generation’s film version of Cats is indeed an irregular one. From the bordering on creepy rendition of our fury friends to adhering to a simpler Broadway mentality with regards to staging and sound design. Where this fits in with current movie trends remains to be seen and the challenge will be for it to find a place in today’s multiplicitous society.

Rob Hudson
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The epic will be produced by Hooper and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, as well as fellow Les Misérables producer Debra Hayward—who brought the idea to Working Title. CATS will be produced by Working Title Films in association with Monumental Pictures and The Really Useful Group and executive produced by Lloyd Webber, Angela Morrison and Jo Burn. Hooper and Lee Hall (Billy Elliott, War Horse) have adapted the story for the screen.

One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, “Cats” received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981—where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The groundbreaking production based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for an extraordinary 18 years.

Cats will be released in Australian cinemas this Boxing Day!
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Cats, in Australian cinemas December 26, is directed by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper (Les Misérables, The King’s Speech), and stars Swift, James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson and Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward.

In the film, the song is performed by Hayward, who stars in the role of Victoria. The version of the song performed by Swift, who plays Bombalurina in the film, will play over the end titles.

As part of the announcement, Universal today also released an exclusive, behind-the-scenes video documenting the creation and recording of the song and including an interview with Swift, Lloyd Webber and Hooper. The video can be seen here.

One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, the stage musical “Cats” includes some of Lloyd Webber’s most indelible songs, including “Memory.” Lloyd Webber, Swift and the filmmakers were excited at the idea of introducing a new song for the film adaptation.

Lloyd Webber saw an opportunity to create a new signature song for Victoria, whose character has been expanded for the film. “When I first read the screenplay, the first thing I said was, ‘We have to have a song for Victoria,’” Lloyd Webber says. “Beautiful Ghosts,” he says, is now, “an incredibly important and central part of the whole film.”

For director Tom Hooper, the song exceeded even his high expectations. “What I couldn’t believe was the extraordinary beauty of these lyrics that Taylor had written,” Hooper says. “It was as if someone had come into the film I was in the middle of making and … had reflected back to me a profound understanding of what we are trying to do with the movie. It was utterly thrilling.”
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The epic will be produced by Hooper and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, as well as fellow Les Misérables producer Debra Hayward—who brought the idea to Working Title. CATS will be produced by Working Title Films in association with Monumental Pictures and The Really Useful Group and executive produced by Lloyd Webber, Angela Morrison and Jo Burn. Hooper and Lee Hall (Billy Elliott, War Horse) have adapted the story for the screen.

One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, “Cats” received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981—where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The groundbreaking production based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for an extraordinary 18 years.

Cats is coming soon – December 2019!
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Many have wondered how Cats will appear on screen, and the Tom Hooper-directed production is using a new technology to transform cast members into a vivid new vision of their characters.

Hooper adapted with Lee Hall (Billy Elliot), and is producing with Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, as well as Debra Hayward, who brought the idea to Working Title. Monumental Pictures and The Really Useful Group are also producing with Steven Spielberg, Lloyd Webber and Angela Morrison (Les Misérables) and Jo Burn (Annihilation) serving as EPs.

Prior to the first day of shooting, the cast have been rehearsing at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, UK. Overseeing the dancing in Cats is three-time Tony-winning choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton: An American Musical, In the Heights, Bandstand), who also choreographed the 2016 stage revival of Cats. The pic’s cast features hip hop dance sensation Larry and Laurent Bourgeiois (aka Les Twins); former principal dancer for the New York City Ballet and Tony-nominated actor Robbie Fairchild (An American In Paris); former soloist of The Royal Ballet Eric Underwood; Mëtte Towley, a member of Pharrell Williams’ acclaimed dance troupe The Baes; Steven McRae, principal of The Royal Ballet.

The below-the-line team includes Oscar-nominated production designer Eve Stewart (The King’s Speech), cinematographer Christopher Ross (Terminal, Room), Oscar-nominated costume designer Paco Delgado (The Danish Girl), Oscar-winning sound mixer Simon Hayes (Les Misérables), BAFTA-winning executive music producer Marius De Vries (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet) and renowned casting director Lucy Bevan (Ready Player One, Murder on the Orient Express).

Cats hits theaters on Dec. 20 next year.

For millennia, cats have roamed the city of Istanbul. Granted freedom and respect, they wander in and out of people’s lives, an essential part of this rich and proud city. Claiming no owners, they live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame. They bring joy and purpose to those they choose to adopt, acting as mirrors to the people of Istanbul and allowing them to reflect on their lives in unique and touching ways.

Observing the lives of seven very different cats, and the people who know them, Kedi is an enlightening and heart-warming examination of one of our oldest animal companions, and the ways they enrich our lives.

Director Ceyda Torun and cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann travelled to Istanbul to gather footage of the cats themselves, not knowing if it was possible to capture the essence of what it means to be a cat in Istanbul.

Along with local researchers, they gathered stories and searched for people who seemed to have extensive knowledge of the street cats of their neighbourhood; who’s the alpha, who’s fathered by whom, which cat steals from the fishmonger, which has a habit of breaking into the neighbour’s house. The stories they heard got them even more excited to make this film and to document these one-of-a-kind animals in action.

In an effort to get as close to the cats as possible, the filmmakers designed and experimented with various ‘cat-cameras,’ followed the cats into dark alleys and deserted basements, flew drones over the rooftops, and pretty much stalked them in order to capture cinematic visuals like over-the-shoulder shots as the cats navigated the city streets. It was dedicated work, returning to shoot the same cats day in and day out which resulted in capturing their unique characters and interaction with their communities.

Composer Kira Fontana creates an ethereal sound world that reflects the role cats play as both mirrors to the main human characters, and as observers of the city’s ever changing nature.

KEDI will open in cinemas nationally from JUNE 15 (JUNE 22 IN WA)
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