Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, and Taylor Swift Cast in Film Adaptation of The Broadway Musical CATS
The King's Speech and Les Miserables director Tom Hooper is set to direct a live-action adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Cats from Andrew Lloyd Webber. He just got himself a surprisingly interesting cast that includes Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden and Ian McKellen.
According to Variety, Hudson will play Grizabella, "the former 'glamour cat' who falls on hard times and gets to sing about it in showstopper 'Memory.'" There's no information on who Swift, Corden and McKellen will play.
Having grown up with a dad who was a professional singer that did a lot of musical theater, I'm very familiar with this musical and it's going to be really interesting to see how Hooper ends up adapting this story for the big screen. But, it's a great story that could make for a solid film. It's definitely got a talented cast on board!
The film was initially announced over five years ago Hooper was attached to direct a couple of years ago. Cats is one of Broadway's longest-running musicals. It's been around since 1982, and it's based on T.S. Eliot‘s poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. There was an attempt to turn this into a film back in the '90s with Steven Spielberg attached to produce it.
The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. The plot is actually pretty insane.
The screenplay for the film is being written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot). What do you think of the cast that they've gathered together to bring this film adaptation of Cats to life?