Dame Judi Dench, who played Old Deuteronomy in 2019’s Tom Hooper-directed film version of “Cats,” has looked back on the universally panned film in her forthcoming memoir “Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?”.
The film was considered a massive critical and commercial flop with Dench among the many stars like Idris Elba, Taylor Swift and James Corden who participated in the feature which became a mockery even before it hit cinemas.
Film critic Ed Douglas best summed it up with his quote “‘Cats’ is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs” which was subsequently used by Ricky Gervais in his Golden Globes routine.
For Dench, she says no-one on the film deliberately set out to make a bad movie, but it happened nonetheless. In an excerpt from book (via Variety), she says:
“Oh God, I can’t bear it [Cats] – and [Lloyd Webber] had waited so long for it to be made. What a waste of all that goodwill and talent.
I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film. I never saw the final cut so I can’t judge. 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 and join the party…
There were no villains in the making of Cats. And if something isn’t a success, then there are always things you can say you’ve learnt.
Dench’s memoir “Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?” arrives in book stores in early November.
