Judi Dench calls Cats film 'a waste of goodwill and talent'

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 15:08 · Archive

Dame Judi Dench, who played Old Deuteronomy in the 2019 Cats film, has called it a waste of goodwill and talent in her forthcoming memoir.

Dame Judi Dench has reflected on the 2019 film adaptation of Cats in her forthcoming memoir Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, calling it 'a waste of all that goodwill and talent'. She played Old Deuteronomy in the Tom Hooper film, which also starred Idris Elba, Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift and was universally criticised on release.

Dench said the makers of the film had honourable intentions but acknowledged that sometimes creative elements simply do not work together. 'There were no villains in the making of Cats,' she writes. 'Sometimes things just don't work out: the timing's wrong, the cast don't gel, the elements don't coalesce.' She noted that she never saw the final cut and cannot judge it, adding: 'All I'll say is nobody sets out to give a poor performance or make a bad film. You do your best, offer something up and hope that people will get on board.'

Dench said she understood critics were hostile to the film and that it was a particular disappointment given how long creator Andrew Lloyd Webber had waited to bring the musical to screen. The film's erratic visual effects were among its most heavily criticised aspects on release. Dench has previously spoken negatively about her costume, describing the orange fur coat she wore as looking like 'five foxes fucking on my back'.

How it is being reported

• Judi Dench Brands Cats Movie A 'Waste' Of 'Goodwill And Talent'Dame Judi Dench has reflected on the disastrous 2019 big-screen adaptation of Cats in her new book. The acting icon played Old Deuteronomy in the critically-panned and universally-mocked Tom Hooper film , alongside an all-star cast that included Idris Elba , Sir Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift . In her forthcoming memoir, Is It Too Late To Make A Run For It?, Dame Judi lamented the film’s poor reception, which she said was a particular shame given how long its creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber , had waited to bring the musical to life on screen. Judi Dench in Cats “What a waste of all that goodwill…HuffPost UK · 20 Oct, 14:45
• ‘Oh God, I can’t bear it’: Judi Dench says Cats film was ‘a waste of goodwill and talent’The actor’s forthcoming memoir Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It? says the makers had honourable intentions but the elements ‘didn’t coalesce’ Dame Judi Dench has long made her feelings clear about Cats, the doomed 2019 adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. In an interview the year after release, she said she had so far declined to watch the movie – in which she played wise moggy Old Deuteronomy – and described the orange fur coat she had to wear as looking like “five foxes fucking on my back”. In her forthcoming memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It? Dench reflects further…The Guardian · 20 Oct, 12:28

In this story: Judi Dench · Tom Hooper · Andrew Lloyd Webber · Idris Elba · Ian McKellen · Taylor Swift

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