Cats like Taylor Swift, like, a lot. And no, I’m not talking about Olivia and Meredith.
In case you didn’t know already, the broadway musical Cats is getting the live-action treatment from director Tom Hooper, whose work ranges from the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech, to the operatic Les Miserables, to the daring The Danish Girl. The cast was announced earlier this week, and it is nothing short of spectacular.
First of all, Jennifer Hudson is cast in the lead as Grizabella, the former “Glamour Cat’ of the Jellicle tribe. This in and of itself is exciting, because Hudson has starred in a slew of musicals, including Black Nativity, Sing, and her Oscar-winning performance in 2006’s Dreamgirls.
But that’s not all. The film also casted late night host James Corden, Lord of the Rings and X-Men actor Ian McKellen, and of course Grammy award-winning pop singer Taylor Swift. Cats will be Swift’s fourth film role, with the first three being Valentine’s Day, The Lorax, and The Giver.
I never saw the Cats musical (I know, I know, I’m ashamed of myself too), but looking at the cast alone, I must say I am very excited for this picture. Hudson and McKellen themselves are incredibly talented dramatic actors, and Corden is a comical force to boot.
I’m even excited for Swift’s inclusion as well. While her former film roles retorted to stupid, silly clichés and included Swift seemingly just for name recognition, Cats looks like it will be the first of her roles to truly utilize her talents as a vocal performer. I’m very excited to see how well she does performing in a musical, even if I’m still lacking confidence in her acting ability. But who knows? Cats might give her the big break she needs in the movies.
What do you guys think? Are you excited for these actors to take on Cats, or do you wish they’d get dragged off of the stage? Comment below, let me know.
– David Dunn
SOURCE: The Daily Mail, Deadine
DAVID DUNN 