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Cats (2019 film)

This thing has a reported budget of $300+ million. With a price tag like that, it's going to need to be a billion dollar film to make any money back.

Be very wary of that number. It was quoted in the Guardian, not any of the trades, and it may not have factored in the ways studios typically keep prices down (eg the UK has very generous tax credits, which this movie probably took tons of advantage of)
 
Be very wary of that number. It was quoted in the Guardian, not any of the trades, and it may not have factored in the ways studios typically keep prices down (eg the UK has very generous tax credits, which this movie probably took tons of advantage of)

I've been hearing that number for a little while now ( have a few friends working on the film in post). With the VFX that's being used, it wouldn't surprise me at all if that is the price tag on it.
 
I've been hearing that number for a little while now ( have a few friends working on the film in post). With the VFX that's being used, it wouldn't surprise me at all if that is the price tag on it.

Tax credits come after a film is made. While it's entirely possible that the movie cost that much, it doesn't factor in the potential refunds they'll get after it's made.
 
Tax credits come after a film is made. While it's entirely possible that the movie cost that much, it doesn't factor in the potential refunds they'll get after it's made.

Yes I know how the film business works haha. I work in it. I'm just saying, even before tax breaks, that's a hefty amount for any film. That's all.
 
I'm going to be honest, the freaky cat people still weird me out, but this looks like it might actually be a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Sometimes a silly nonsense story is just what you need!

I need to see how big a role Corden has before I decide to see it though :puke:
 
No way Cats cost $300 million. I could see $300 million after P&A (i.e. all distribution & advertising costs).
 
I'm going to be honest, the freaky cat people still weird me out, but this looks like it might actually be a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Sometimes a silly nonsense story is just what you need!

I need to see how big a role Corden has before I decide to see it though :puke:
It's hard to say. In the show, only four cats "feature" narratively: Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy, Macavity, and Grizabella. All the other cats, including Bustopher Jones (Corden's character), basically sing a song then move into the chorus. It's very much an ensemble, vignette sort of show.

The new trailer hints that they're expanding elements of the story a good bit (like a much bigger battle against Macavity). There's still too many characters (and more interesting cats) to make me think Corden is any more than a bit part though.
 
It's hard to say. In the show, only four cats "feature" narratively: Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy, Macavity, and Grizabella. All the other cats, including Bustopher Jones (Corden's character), basically sing a song then move into the chorus. It's very much an ensemble, vignette sort of show.

The new trailer hints that they're expanding elements of the story a good bit (like a much bigger battle against Macavity). There's still too many characters (and more interesting cats) to make me think Corden is any more than a bit part though.

I keep reading your comment because those names are great! Munkustrap and Bustopher Jones are particularly fun to say.
 
I keep reading your comment because those names are great! Munkustrap and Bustopher Jones are particularly fun to say.
The poems by TS Eliot are whimsical AF; most of the cat names are fun as hell.

Mungojerry
Rumpleteaser
Skimbleshanks
Jellylorum
Rum Tum Tugger
Growltiger
Bombalorina
Asparagus (shortened to “Gus”)

Shoot, “Mr. Mestophales” is one of the blandest names in the show.
 
The poems by TS Eliot are whimsical AF; most of the cat names are fun as hell.

Mungojerry
Rumpleteaser
Skimbleshanks
Jellylorum
Rum Tum Tugger
Growltiger
Bombalorina
Asparagus (shortened to “Gus”)

Shoot, “Mr. Mestophales” is one of the blandest names in the show.

Well my dull afternoon at work got a whole lot more fun :D

Wonder if I can fit Rum Tum Tugger into a meeting somehow...
 
Cats may not be in theaters yet but is still in award running for best song and VFX awards with nominations already incoming for those two categories.

Cats is probably gonna win VFX, in my view. Big budget fantasy movie that trades heavily on older audiences, big sets win brownie points, it's not a Marvel movie, and The Irishman's VFX are a bit too subtle to win, though they are still pretty incredible.
 
Just this summer, Working Title scored with the surprise comedy hit “Yesterday,” which imagines a world in which nobody knows the music of the Beatles. It’s hoping to close out 2019 on a high with the Dec. 20 release of “Cats,” the risky big-screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage smash.

And yes, Bevan, Fellner and their team have seen the memes and read the mean tweets that greeted the first trailer for “Cats.”

Commentators feasted on the way that an A-list cast that includes Taylor Swift and Judi Dench had been feline-ized with whiskers and swishing tails, calling the transformation creepy. The two executives are taking a “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” stance, noting that the online furor raised the movie’s profile.

“What does one say?” says Fellner. “The reality is that 100 million people or more saw the trailer, and, yes, there were some people that didn’t like it, and as is the world we live in, those who didn’t like it were the most vociferous.”

Bevan has his own theory: “They were probably people who didn’t know ‘Cats,’ and the fact is they were either anticipating something animated or something that was on four legs. Among people who know ‘Cats,’ the reaction was pretty solid.”

Moreover, the cats themselves have changed in appearance. The versions that were shown in the initial trailer were not the finished renditions; they were the result of a mad scramble to get visual effects shots completed in time for the teaser, says Fellner. “You’re seeing subtle changes,” he says. “The characters have progressed and are progressing every day.”

‘Cats’: Working Title’s Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner’s Latest British Bet – Variety
 
This is, of course, all spin. They're not wrong that it raised the movie's profile, and a good amount of people will probably hate watch it. (I plan to get fairly drunk and taking it for a spin.)

But the real issue is the uncanny valley of the CGI creations. I don't think people would be having the same reaction if they were using the costumes and makeups popularized by the stage musical... but of course, that would mean A-listers like Swift would have to be willing to subject themselves to those appliances, and it sounds like that just wasn't in the cards. (Alternatively, it's very possible someone at the studio was advocating very hard to push the technology envelope, making the whole thing a bizarre tech demo. See Zemeckis re: all his mo cap nightmares.)
 
This is, of course, all spin. They're not wrong that it raised the movie's profile, and a good amount of people will probably hate watch it. (I plan to get fairly drunk and taking it for a spin.)

But the real issue is the uncanny valley of the CGI creations. I don't think people would be having the same reaction if they were using the costumes and makeups popularized by the stage musical... but of course, that would mean A-listers like Swift would have to be willing to subject themselves to those appliances, and it sounds like that just wasn't in the cards. (Alternatively, it's very possible someone at the studio was advocating very hard to push the technology envelope, making the whole thing a bizarre tech demo. See Zemeckis re: all his mo cap nightmares.)

Director also reported they refilmed.

Controversial 'Cats' film was remade after critical fan reaction
 
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