'Cats' star Jennifer Hudson performs 'Memory' at CinemaCon.
Image: Getty Images for CinemaCon
When news broke that the hit Broadway musical Cats would be made into a major motion picture, the questions on everyone’s minds were “What?” and “How?”
On Wednesday at CinemaCon, we finally got some answers.
Although Universal Pictures did not present any footage from the film, we were treated to a behind-the-scenes reel revealing some crucial details about the show. Here’s what you need to know about Tom Hooper’s Cats.
The cats will be created through motion capture
On stage, the cats of Cats are portrayed by humans in tight, colorful, vaguely cat-like costumes. In the movie, they’ll be done in CG through the magic of motion capture. “I wanted to come up with a 2019 version that was fully our own,” says Hooper in the reel, touting the cutting-edge “digital fur technology” at use here.
The stars have clearly committed; we saw footage of actors like Taylor Swift (Bombalurina), Idris Elba (Macavity), Judi Dench (Old Deuteronomy), and Ian McKellen (Gus) practicing their dance moves and running around the set in mo-cap suits.
Because we didn’t see any finished footage, how any of them will actually look as cats, once all is said and done, remains to be seen. But it can’t be weirder than the Broadway costumes, right?
The cats are, well, cat-sized
Oh, and about those sets: They’re made to look extra-large so that the human actors will look extra-small — that is, cat-sized. “Everything is three or four times bigger than it would usually be, from a cat perspective,” Elba explained in the sizzle reel.
That means everyone is leaping around on chairs that stand about 10 feet high, and slipping through doors that might be 20 feet high. Honestly, that part of it looks kind of trippy.
The music will stay true to the original stage show
Don’t worry, theater fans: “We’re staying true to the brilliant music Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote,” Hooper says.
As if to drive that point home, Universal’s CinemaCon panel ended with Jennifer Hudson, who plays Grizabella, taking the stage to perform a lovely version of the character’s signature tune, “Memory.”
It’s got Hamilton‘s choreographer
The dancing, on the other hand, might get a shake-up. As was reported last year, Andy Blankenbuehler, who worked on Hamilton and the 2016 Broadway revival of Cats, is choreographing Cats the movie. The results, according to star Jason Derulo (Rum Tum Tugger), combine styles as disparate as hip-hop, ballet, and tap.
Francesca Hayward is the one to watch out for
In a cast full of famous people, Francesca Hayward is one of the few names you might not know already — but perhaps that’s about to change.
The Royal Ballet dancer plays Victoria, and will perform a new song in the movie written by Webber. “Frankie Hayward is such a find,” Hooper says. “She has incredible presence, incredible grace and beauty.”
Read more: https://mashable.com/article/cats-movie-cinemacon-taylor-swift/
