Dench Calls 'Cats' a 'Waste' of Lloyd Webber's Talent — SkimNews
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- Judi Dench called the 2019 film 'Cats' — in which she played Old Deuteronomy — a 'waste' of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'goodwill and talent' in her forthcoming memoir, writing: 'Oh God, I can't bear it.'
- Dench's memoir 'Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?' hits shelves Nov. 3 and includes her extended reflections on the film.
- The adaptation featured a stacked cast including James Corden, Idris Elba, and Taylor Swift, but was considered a critical and commercial failure despite Lloyd Webber's years-long effort to get it made.
- Dench was nominated for a Razzie award for her performance, though she noted she never saw the final cut and so 'can't judge' the finished product herself.
- Dench wrote that 'there were no villains in the making of Cats,' attributing the outcome to timing, cast chemistry, and elements that 'don't coalesce.'
Why it matters: Dench's memoir lands Nov. 3 with her most candid public accounting of the 2019 'Cats' debacle — a film for which she earned a Razzie nomination despite never seeing the final cut. Her pointed 'waste' framing gives Lloyd Webber a sympathetic public platform after years spent defending the adaptation.
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