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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Producer/director Bill Condon has a history with McKellen with Gods & Monsters and Mr. Holmes and does little to rein in his eccentricities. Mirren gives as good as she gets and does so with a thinly veiled look of superiority. With the ad and press campaign for the film leaving little doubt that both participants have something up their sleeves, the real surprises don’t arrive until the last reel reveal.

The twist when it does come, will catch most by surprise as it comes way out from left field. It does however feel a little forced in the context of having so few clues given beforehand. Even with McKellen’s character seemingly having the surest hand during most of the movie, it gives very little information on the cause and effect of his past.

The main satisfaction inherent in The Good Liar comes from the act of watching Mirren and McKellen riff off each. This provides more delight than the revelatory moments inherent in the sting movie genre. As these two grow older, their rare moments together on stage or screen are ones to be cherished.
Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/roadshow

Career con man Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) sets his sights on his latest mark: recently widowed Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren), worth millions. And he means to take it all. But as the two draw closer, what should have been another simple swindle takes on the ultimate stakes.

Legendary actors Mirren and McKellen star together on screen for the first time in this suspenseful drama from New Line Cinema about the secrets people keep and the lies they live.

THE GOOD LIAR was directed and produced by Bill Condon, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Gods and Monsters,” from a screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the widely acclaimed novel by Nicholas Searle.

THE GOOD LIAR releases in Australian cinemas December 5.

To enter this great competition just fill out the entry form below.

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Competition will be drawn 8 December 2019, winners will be notified by email.

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.”
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU

Legendary actors Mirren and McKellen star together on screen for the first time in this suspenseful drama from New Line Cinema about the secrets people keep and the lies they live.

THE GOOD LIAR was directed and produced by Bill Condon, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Gods and Monsters,” from a screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the widely acclaimed novel by Nicholas Searle.

THE GOOD LIAR releases in Australia in theatres on January 23, 2020.
www.facebook.com/roadshow

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!
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU

The bard (Branagh) has returned to his rural home in Stratford-upon-Avon after giving up on writing after the 1613 fire that burned down the Globe Theatre in London. The family is still rife with the grief that followed his young son’s death. This grief starts a chain of events that will reveal many family secrets and scandals.

Elton’s script gives the a-list cast a lot to chew on and there are some real highlights. The conversation between Will and the Earl of South Hampton (Ian McKellen) is a stand out, as they profess a love that couldn’t be. Elsewhere scandals continue to blight the Shakespeare house.

For those that think any movie attached to the name Shakespeare will be a dry affair, All is True is anything but that. There are more than a few saucy moments and tides of real emotion. The acting can not be faulted and the pace is impeccable. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS

The year is 1613, Shakespeare is acknowledged as the greatest writer of the age. But disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre burns to the ground, and devastated, Shakespeare returns to Stratford, where he must face a troubled past and a neglected family.

Haunted by the death of his only son Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationships with his wife and daughters. In so doing, he is ruthlessly forced to examine his own failings as a husband and father. His very personal search for the truth uncovers secrets and lies within a family at war.

All Is True is in Australian cinemas May 9!
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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.