CATS Film Adaptation Thread — Page 20

Thing is, folks, that you know that tonight some producer is running the numbers for that proposed film version of FOLLIES or WICKED or KINKY BOOTS and asking him/herself if it's really worth it. Every time we seem to be getting a nice spate of film musicals, something comes along to trainwreck it — seemingly bullet-proof material like PHANTOM or THE PRODUCERS is released, and they're disasters, financially and creatively — and Hollywood being Hollywood, an industry that gets skittish really fast, I daresay the list of Things We'd All Love To See is gonna get a lot, lot shorter. So enjoy those "questionable source" videos of your favourite show, because right now that's probably about the best you're gonna get.

chernjam said: "SeanMartin2 said: "Thing is, folks, that you know that tonight some producer is running the numbers for that proposed film version of FOLLIES or WICKED or KINKY BOOTS and asking him/herself if it's really worth it. Every time we seem to be getting a nice spate of film musicals, something comes along to trainwreck it — seemingly bullet-proof material like PHANTOM or THE PRODUCERS is released, and they're disasters, financially and creatively — and Hollywood being Hollywood, an industry that gets skittish really fast, I daresay the list of Things We'd All Love To See is gonna get a lot, lot shorter. So enjoy those "questionable source" videos of your favourite show, because right now that's probably about the best you're gonna get."

I have a feeling most producers are actually waiting to see the actual box office rather then speculation on BWW boards because of some critics (expected) pans of the film. "

Do let me know when you see that rave that's going to put asses in seats. Thus far, the heavyweights like Variety and the NYTimes are not helping your case any. I've already said that my bet is it'll sputter along for a few weeks on the curiosity factor, but after that, it'll disappear pretty fast. And I stand by that.

SeanMartin2 said: "Thing is, folks, that you know that tonight some producer is running the numbers for that proposed film version of FOLLIES or WICKED or KINKY BOOTS and asking him/herself if it's really worth it. Every time we seem to be getting a nice spate of film musicals, something comes along to trainwreck it — seemingly bullet-proof material like PHANTOM or THE PRODUCERS is released, and they're disasters, financially and creatively — and Hollywood being Hollywood, an industry that gets skittish really fast, I daresay the list of Things We'd All Love To See is gonna get a lot, lot shorter. So enjoy those "questionable source" videos of your favourite show, because right now that's probably about the best you're gonna get."

It's a reasonable concern, but I am not sure it will really apply in this instance - if it ends up bombing. I have never actually seen Cats on stage or on film, but it certainly doesn't seem like a natural screen adaptation that would appeal to the masses or critics.. The musical has been mocked by theater people since it opened. I'll be more concerned if In The Heights does poorly, because that one seems like a more obvious choice for a film adaptation and its first trailer has drawn raves. (I don't think West Side Story will affect anything unless it underperforms, because the source material is so famous, and any success it has will be written off as unique to the show itself and Spielberg.)

Some successful Broadway musicals just don't translate to the screen, or are translated poorly. Cats may turn out to be an example of both.

A Director said: "Impossible2 said: "A Director said: "From a critical standpoint, CATS is a FLOP!"

Sowas Avatar x"

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Read this.https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avatar

"

Sorry I meant Batman Vs Superman LOL

How I mixed those 2 up I have no idea.

It was late

People who care about rotten tomatoes and base their entertainment choices on it are idiots x

bear88 said: "I don't think West Side Story will affect anything unless it underperforms, because the source material is so famous, and any success it has will be written off as unique to the show itself and Spielberg."

His track record of late hasnt been the best (Ready Player One had a 175 mil budget and only did 134 mil US gross — yes, 134 mil is a lot of money, but it's not making back the production budget), and, given his revisionist take on it, coupled with the bizarre political climate in your country right now, I can see some issues coming along for the ride. It's in post now, which means it will be released on schedule, so I guess we wait and see what happens.

Look, to all of you, I hate being a Debbie Downer about all this, because I love musicals as much everyone else on these boards. I dont understand why Hollywood cant just trust the material as is and why it feels the need to "improve" on it. But sometimes we just have to accept that when a major production like CATS goes south, which it appears it will, it impacts all those other favourite projects we'd like to see. Sometimes things are just too theatrical to make the leap to film. Sometimes, in their rush to make them more "film-friendly", the studios make horrendous choices (Anyone else remember the almost-film of FOLLIES that was going to jettison three-quarters of the score in favour of clips from old MGM musicals? The all-Muppet version of INTO THE WOODS?). And I really, really cannot tell you how much I hate seeing this crap on the screen. And yet it happens, and then it screws things up for all those other hoped-for productions we want to see.

Sadly, that's life.

I do have to say: Most of the reviews basically say "This movie is so insane, you have to see it to believe it. Zero stars." The negative reviews have people interested -- a couple of my friends have said that they now feel like they need to see it in theaters because they want to experience the trainwreck. I think it has the rare potential to become an instant cult classic.

Updated On: 12/19/19 at 10:06 AM

Impossible2 said: "seaweedjstubbs said: "^Yes, but the filmed stage version only has 5 reviews, and none of them are from respected sources. The movie currently has 67 reviews, 24 from “Top Critics”.


This should’ve been an animated movie. Don’t know how/why Universal thought it could be a prestige film. It’s CATS. It ain’t that deep. Crazy to think that if things had gone differently, we’d be talking about the WICKED movie right now."

'Top critics' in this day and age are probably a few narcissistsfrom youtube that know nothing about films in the first place.

"
........no, on Rotten Tomatoes “Top Critics” are film critics from major news publications or websites.

seaweedjstubbs said: "........no, on Rotten Tomatoes “Top Critics” are film critics from majornews publications or websites. "

They're actually not -- Rotten Tomatoes hand picks "top critics" from both movie bloggers and major publications.

Cats is an old, polarizing property and an odd choice to make into a movie. I would attribute any issues with/repercussions from the movie mainly to that. I would not read too much into the long-term effect on the genre. Rent and The Producers both flopped in the same year, but numerous movie musicals came out since then, which cost a lot more money to make than those two films.

I grew up at a time when the live-action film musical was DEAD and no one thought it would come back. Since Chicago reversed that trend, we got Phantom, Rent, The Producers, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Across the Universe, Sweeney Todd, Enchanted, Nine, Rock of Ages, Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Annie, The Greatest Showman, La La Land, Beauty and the Beast, Mama Mia Here We Go Again, Mary Poppins Returns, and Cats. I am probably forgetting a few. Some of these tanked, some did quite well. Some were loathed by critics, and some won Oscars. Such is the business. Then there were all the live television musicals—let’s not forget those. No one could predict this resurgence. I would not place bets on when, how, or if it will end. And sometimes genres do need a break because of audience fatigue, and then they come back years later.