After the critical and commercial success of Tom Hooper's LES MISÉRABLES, the director felt confident to dive into the world of musicals once again with a feature-film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed musical "Cats." With a star-studded cast that included Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson, Francesa Hayward, and Jason Derulo, anticipation for CATS was sky high, but as we know, the film proved to be a box-office bomb that got absolutely ravaged by critics.
Despite the end result, I doubt that anyone involved in CATS actively set out to make a bad movie; in fact, Jason Derulo told The Telegraph that he thought CATS was going to change the world. Derulo played Rum Tum Tugger in the film, which he thought would be a perfect first feature.
For the longest time, I was trying to figure out what’s the perfect first role. Cats checked all the boxes. You can’t get a more star-studded cast, you don’t get a more respected director than an Oscar winner, and Rum Tum Tugger is a legacy role, a standout character in a classic musical.
"Even when I saw the trailer, I thought it looked unbelievable," Derulo said. "Like, I know some people saw it and they were terrified, but I got chills down my spine! I thought it was gonna change the world." Well, it certainly did, just not in the way Jason Derulo envisioned. With that said, Derulo has learned from the experience. "It didn't pan out," Derulo said. "With all things that leftfield, it could either be considered genius or bat**** crazy. That's the risk you take. It taught me a lesson. You can't wait for the perfect moment, cause that might not be your moment. So you've just got to go for gold. That's how I'll move forward." For those of you who have seen CATS, did it deserve the scathing reviews or was it not as bad as people seem to think it is?
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