Recently, the film "Cats", directed by Tom Hopper, director of the musical adaptation of the film "Les Misérables", and starring Taylor Swift, James Corden, Ian McLean, Jennifer Hudson and others, released a behind-the-scenes special, in which the actors were shaped into the size of real cats through cg technology, covered in fur. Based on Andrew Lloyd Weber's classic musical of the same name, the film tells the story of a special night when the Jericho cat family is holding an annual ball, and all kinds of cats appear at the dance party to fight for a chance to be reborn, telling their stories with moving singing and charming dance. Like director Hooper's last musical adaptation, Les Misérables, Cats also featured an all-star cast, especially singer Taylor Swift, who played such an important role for the first time and was highly anticipated by fans. It is reported that the film is officially scheduled for release in North America on December 20, 2019.
The musical of the same name set a broadway performance record
The musical Cat is based on a collection of children's poems by composer Andrew Lloyd Weber and has been an instant hit since its premiere at london's New London Theatre on 11 May 1981, making it one of the most successful and longest-running musicals ever performed in the UK. In 1982, "Cats" began to perform on Broadway in New York, USA, and was discontinued in the summer of 2000, breaking the record for the longest and most frequent performances on Broadway.
Stills from the 1998 musical Cats.
Translated into 15 languages, the musical has been staged around the world, winning seven Tony Awards in 1983 and the prestigious "Lawrence Oliver" Award in theatre in 1981 and 2015, a "classic of a classic". In 1998, the official filming of a video version of the musical "Cat", but due to the two-hour length of the film, some supporting characters and minor singing segments were cut, but the essence was basically retained.
Special effects Digital technology creates the perfect fur
From the behind-the-scenes special and trailer, it can be seen that the proportion of the cat played by the actor in the film is very close to the real cat, and the shape is also as good as possible to ensure the real, which is a big selling point of the film, the actors are real performances, but they are cats in the film, with cat ears, tails, and hair. Director Hoeber said that "Cats" uses a digital fur technology to create the most perfect fur, which is different from traditional motion capture technology, which does not add special effects on the action, but just turns the human skin into fur. Actors wear performance capture suits with facial tracking logos and make facial movements under the green screen. The choreographer also uses modern dance and ballet movements to find the cat's physical sensations.
The "cat fur" on the actor's body is made and generated by digital fur technology.
Starred in the "Moldy Mold" big screen debut
Composer Weber had the idea of adapting the musical Cat into a movie as early as 2013, when Tom Hopper, who won the Oscar for best director for "The King's Speech," had just released the film "Les Misérables," which grossed $440 million at the global box office, which was quite an impressive achievement for a song and dance film. The two hit it off and decided to bring this classic musical to the big screen. It was Weber's fifth musical to be adapted into a film after Jesus Christ of All Stars (1973), Madame Perón (1996), Joseph's The Amazing Dress (1999) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004).
"Mold" will play an important role in "Cats".
In order to shoot the film version of "Cats", director Hopper and composer Weber hired Andy Blankenbouler as choreographers for the film, and the three-time Tony Award winner has choreographed Broadway musicals such as "Hamilton", "Stage", "On the Heights", "Nine to Five", "Apple Tree", "Annie" and so on. Casting officially began in January 2018, with the first cast announced in July 2018, including American pop musician Taylor Swift. In fact, this is not Taylor's film debut, as early as 2010's "Valentine's Day" and 2014's "The Giver" she has starred, but the role is not heavy. The movie "Cat" is a major turning point in Taylor's performance, not only playing a role that is heavy, but also leading her to audiences who do not understand her music. In fact, there are not a few European and American musicians who have turned to the big screen, Madonna starred in "Looking for Susan", and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Musical/Comedy Actress in the Film Category for her outstanding performance in "Mrs. Peron". Lady Gaga, who is also a singer, was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress last year for "The Birth of a Star". I don't know if this time the musical adaptation movie "Cat" can make Taylor go further on the big screen.
role
Taylor Swift as Bumberurene
In the film, Taylor plays a frivolous red cat who has provocative behavior towards many male cats throughout the story. She has close ties to the other cats, Munch Tripp, Jenny Dot, and Jerry Rowland.
Ian McLean (as Gauss)
"Gandalf" Ian plays Gauss the cat in the theater, an old and frail cat who tells the story and becomes more confident as night falls. Gauss was once a successful actor who often connected the cat's storyline to other works he was involved in.
Jennifer Hudson as Grace Bella
A "charismatic cat" rejected by the Jericho family. In terms of age, she has long since lost her luster, and it is difficult for people to recognize that she was once a proud and carefree cat.
Judy Dench (as Old Jeopard)
An ancient cat that has lived for many years, she is the wise leader of the Jericho cat, taking care of all the cats in the tribe, especially Grace Bella. The role was originally played by a male actor, with Judy Dench being the first female actor to play the role.
Idris Elba as McCavity
The only villain in the film, he is a criminal nicknamed "Hidden Claw", but he is never punished because he is too smart to leave evidence that he did something wrong. Tough guy Elba played the villain cyborg in Fast and Furious: Special Ops.
Trivia "Cats", 5 things you don't know
This is the first film adapted from Weber's musical of the same name since the release of the BBC TV movie Cats in 1998.
2) Steven Spielberg had planned to adapt the musical into an animated film, but gave it up after his animated film studio closed.
3. In July 2018, Taylor Swift released the first merchandise for her two cats, Olivia and Meredith, and earlier that same day, she appeared on the first cast of the film version of Cats. Her two cats also appear in Deadpool 2, with the protagonist wearing a t-shirt with pictures of the two cats printed on it.
4. Taylor Swift was considered playing Epony in Tom Hopper's 2012 Les Misérables, but she lost to Samantha Bacchus.
5. Judy Dench was scheduled to play the roles of Janice and Grizzabella in the original London musical Cats in 1981. However, shortly before the show began, she was injured and had to quit the show, where she was replaced by Elaine Page at the last minute.
Beijing News reporter Teng Chao
Edited by Huang Jialing Proofreader Zhao Lin