-- A Movie Studio Right After a Screening of a Rough Cut of Tom Hooper's "Cats" --
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- Yup.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Did, uh, wow--is Tom here?
- No, he's still, uh, there's still--he's got more, uh, special effects stuff to do.
- Okay.
- So, you know, speak freely. (Laughs, and laughs, and laughs.) What do you--what do you think?
- Um. Is Andrew here?
- No, we don't--we can get Andrew.
- No, no. Don't, uh, don't do that.
- Okay.
- So--uh--is anybody from the movie here?
- In this room? No.
- Okay. So--Wow.
- Yeah.
- Did, um--this is based on the show, right?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, pretty much.
- And that--that was really popular, right?
- It was very popular.
- Very popular.
- Ran for years.
- Decades.
- Set records.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Is this--could this--like, is it for kids?
- Uhhh...I wouldn't say it's for kids.
- It could be for kids.
- It feels like it shouldn't be for kids.
- But they're...cats.
- Right.
- But human cats.
- Right.
- With--they've got hands, and uh--
- Right.
- The boobs.
- Yeah, the boobs.
- So it's all--supposed to be this way?
- Well, you know--
- We thought about animation.
- We did.
- But CGI is so big now--
- Right.
- So big.
- Jungle Book.
- Lion King.
- And so we thought--
- But in Jungle Book and Lion King, they're--they're actual animals.
- Right, but in this, we need the cats to dance.
- CGI cats can't dance.
- No, CGI cats can do whatever you want them to do. They're not real cats.
- I know that.
- Right, but--
- I know that, Matt, Jesus--
- But we tried having the CGI cats dance, and uh--
- What?
- It just looked weird.
- Okay, well this--
- I know.
- THIS looks weird.
- It does. I know that.
- Why is everybody licking themselves?
- Well, they're cats.
- Do cats lick themselves?
- Our research says they do.
- I've never had a cat, so--
- They do that, yeah. They do it frequently.
- But did we have to--I mean, Jesus.
- I know.
- Rebel Wilson--first thing you see is her licking her--
- I know.
- We can't show this to kids.
- That was the other reason we didn't want to go animated. That would have really--it would have really felt like we were saying 'Oh, this is for kids!' which we didn't feel--
- There's that scene where they're all--
- Which one?
- Where they're guzzling milk like they're--
- Right.
- Like it's--
- Yeah.
- I mean, they look THIRSTY for that milk.
- Right.
- If you know what I--
- Right.
- I mean, is Tom okay? Is he all right? Is he doing all right?
- I think he's--
- I mean, we asked him to do this.
- Who asked? I asked? I didn't ask.
- The guy before you. He asked.
- Where is he now?
- He works at Warner Bros.
- Can we give this to him? Have him sell it?
- No, we can't--
- How much did we spend on this?
- Ninety-five.
- Million?
- Well, yeah.
- How is that possible? I can see their hands.
- I know.
- I can SEE their HUMAN hands.
- It was the technology.
- What technology?
- The, um, the...digital fur technology.
- That's not a thing.
- It is.
- It can't be.
- It--it is.
- You know they have these things called...costumes, right?
- I know.
- That you don't--that don't cost NINETY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.
- We thought it would play big overseas.
- Where overseas?
- Japan.
- Japan.
- Mostly Japan.
- It's not going to do ninety-five million dollars IN JAPAN.
- We know.
- It's gotta sell somewhere other than--and what the hell is wrong with people in Japan that they would--
- We don't ask. We just...send them stuff like this and they...they really enjoy it.
- Jesus.
- We know.
- Something to do with video games and, uh, isolationism or--
- Why does Judi Dench keep lifting her leg?
- Well, she's a cat.
- Can she--the woman is in her eighties. How is she this flexible?
- It's impressive, right? We were thinking of pushing her for Best Supporting--
- No.
- I mean, early on, we were--
- No, no, no. She--the woman lifts her leg and hisses. We can't do this to her. She's a legend. I mean--can we--we can't do this to--Does Ian McKellen know he's in this?
- He does.
- Are you sure?
- He does. He--
- I need you to be REALLY sure that he knows he's in this.
- He was very excited to play Gus the Theater Cat.
- Is that...is that his name?
- There was a whole song--
- The songs are nonsense. Everything is nonsense. Is there--is there a plot or--
- Yeah, it's--
- Idris Elba--
- Was he a cat?
- They're all cats.
- He didn't look like a cat.
- He--yes.
- Why are they all wearing fur? If we spent all this money so they could have fur, why are they WEARING fur on top of the fur?
- It was a...stylistic choice?
- So Idris Elba is a cat and he--he keeps making the other cats disappear.
- Onto a boat.
- Right. Why on a boat? Why not just--obliterate them? That's what it looks like.
- We thought that would be too violent.
- Oh.
- As opposed to--
- As opposed to teleporting them onto a boat?
- Yes.
- With a cat pirate?
- There are piratical cats.
- Please get out.
- I'm sorry.
- No, just--can someone show him out?
- I'll--this way, George.
- Thank you. Okay, so--wait--am I crazy or at one point did they say there were scatological cats?
- They--they do say that.
- We let that line in?
- It's in the show?
- Do they teleport in the show too?
- No, we made that up.
- Why is he teleporting them?
- To eliminate his competition because he wants to ride the chandelier attached to the hot-air balloon into the heavenly layer.
- What the hell did you just say?
- It's, uh--
- You added all that in?
- Only some of it so that it wouldn't be so confusing.
- You added teleporting to make this LESS confusing?
- It might not have worked.
- Oh, it didn't.
- Right.
- It didn't at all.
- In the show they just sort of step forward and say 'Hi, I'm This Cat or That Cat' and then they do a dance and then at the end--
- That's the show?
- Yes.
- That's the show that ran for TWENTY YEARS?
- Yes.
- God, people are--
- Yes.
- No wonder we're--
- Yes.
- Okay, so--then at the end--Judi Dench chooses the Jennifer Hudson cat.
- Yes.
- Why?
- She--she sings that song.
- What is that song about?
- How she used to be pretty.
- She's still--I mean, I don't know if she's any less pretty than the other--I mean, they're all cats.
- Well, you have to admit, she's not AS pretty as some of the other--
- She's a #$%#%-ing cat!
- I know that.
- We're debating the attractiveness of CATS!
- I mean, some are definitely hotter than others.
- Get out.
- I'm just--
- He's actually backing up some of our test research.
- What research?
- The research that shows that, um, some people who had--who didn't totally--HATE--the film, uh, hated it less, uh, because they were, uh, well, sexually interested in--
- No.
- A few of the--
- No.
- Mainly Skimbleshanks.
- Is that a cat?
- Yes.
- Get out.
- We're thinking action figures.
- Kill me.
- Don't you think it's sort of nice when Grizabella goes off into the sky?
- Who's Grizabella?
- The Glamour Cat.
- Is that Jennifer Hudson?
- Yes.
- So they murder her?
- No, she's going off to the Heavenly layer.
- They stick her in a chandelier and send her up into the sky. What do you think happens to her after that? She lands on an island full of old mangy glamour cats who lay on the beach licking their #$% all the live long day?
- It's just nice to see her happy after what she went through.
- What did she go through?
- She was, uh, well, she lives in the red light district so--
- She's a sex working cat?
- Uh, well--
- We have sex workers in this movie?
- It's implied.
- Never show this to children.
- Right, we weren't--
- Never. Show. This. To. Children.
- Right.
- And the milk-guzzling. My god.
- Did you like Macavity?
- Who?
- Macavity.
- Who's that? Is that James Corden?
- No, it's--
- His entire song is about eating. Didn't he JUST get mad at people for fat-shaming him and then he does a whole song about how fat he is?
- Not him, the cat.
- He's a fat cat.
- Get out.
- No, Macavity is Idris Elba.
- What's with his eyes?
- It's his magical powers.
- Do they all have magical powers?
- No.
- But they can all dance?
- That's not a magical power. That's just because it's a musical.
- And this takes place in London?
- Yes.
- But, like, a--alternative Universe London.
- Are there humans in this London?
- No./Yes.
- There's a human right at the beginning of the--
- Oh god.
- It ran for years on Broadway.
- If even a third of the people who saw it on Broadway come see this, we're good.
- We're golden.
- We'll be--
- We'll be so good.
- I...I guess.
- I mean, for something to be as popular as this was--
- There has to be a reason.
- There has to be.
- But that's what you said about Phantom and then--
- Well, that wasn't very good.
- And you think THIS is?
- This is--I think--the best Cats can possibly be.
- Okay.
- Right.
- Yes.
- BUT WHO IS IT FOR?
- The people who went to see the show.
- They're still going to see it. It's been on tour forever.
- So if any of those people go see it, we're good.
- We're good.
- It's like 'Hahaha it's Cats' but then it makes a fortune. That's what always happens.
- That has never not happened with this show.
- People make fun of it, and then--Bam! Big hit.
- Okay.
- Watch, you'll see. Huge hit.
- Just--the way that they're guzzling that milk.
- We could tone that down a little, yeah.
- And the human faces on the cockroaches.
- Those are--
- And the mice.
- Yeah.
- And the proportions are all--
- We're going to work on that in post.
- And the boobs.
- It's that or cat nipples.
- Jesus.
- So we went with boobs, because--
- Yeah.
- Just seemed like the lesser of two--
- And the soliloquy at the end. Do we--do we need a soliloquy to--
- We were hoping Judi might be in the running for a--
- No.
- Okay.
- No, no, no.
- Okay.
- I just--
- Yeah.
- It's--
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- Yup.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Did, uh, wow--is Tom here?
- No, he's still, uh, there's still--he's got more, uh, special effects stuff to do.
- Okay.
- So, you know, speak freely. (Laughs, and laughs, and laughs.) What do you--what do you think?
- Um. Is Andrew here?
- No, we don't--we can get Andrew.
- No, no. Don't, uh, don't do that.
- Okay.
- So--uh--is anybody from the movie here?
- In this room? No.
- Okay. So--Wow.
- Yeah.
- Did, um--this is based on the show, right?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, pretty much.
- And that--that was really popular, right?
- It was very popular.
- Very popular.
- Ran for years.
- Decades.
- Set records.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- Wow, wow, wow.
- Is this--could this--like, is it for kids?
- Uhhh...I wouldn't say it's for kids.
- It could be for kids.
- It feels like it shouldn't be for kids.
- But they're...cats.
- Right.
- But human cats.
- Right.
- With--they've got hands, and uh--
- Right.
- The boobs.
- Yeah, the boobs.
- So it's all--supposed to be this way?
- Well, you know--
- We thought about animation.
- We did.
- But CGI is so big now--
- Right.
- So big.
- Jungle Book.
- Lion King.
- And so we thought--
- But in Jungle Book and Lion King, they're--they're actual animals.
- Right, but in this, we need the cats to dance.
- CGI cats can't dance.
- No, CGI cats can do whatever you want them to do. They're not real cats.
- I know that.
- Right, but--
- I know that, Matt, Jesus--
- But we tried having the CGI cats dance, and uh--
- What?
- It just looked weird.
- Okay, well this--
- I know.
- THIS looks weird.
- It does. I know that.
- Why is everybody licking themselves?
- Well, they're cats.
- Do cats lick themselves?
- Our research says they do.
- I've never had a cat, so--
- They do that, yeah. They do it frequently.
- But did we have to--I mean, Jesus.
- I know.
- Rebel Wilson--first thing you see is her licking her--
- I know.
- We can't show this to kids.
- That was the other reason we didn't want to go animated. That would have really--it would have really felt like we were saying 'Oh, this is for kids!' which we didn't feel--
- There's that scene where they're all--
- Which one?
- Where they're guzzling milk like they're--
- Right.
- Like it's--
- Yeah.
- I mean, they look THIRSTY for that milk.
- Right.
- If you know what I--
- Right.
- I mean, is Tom okay? Is he all right? Is he doing all right?
- I think he's--
- I mean, we asked him to do this.
- Who asked? I asked? I didn't ask.
- The guy before you. He asked.
- Where is he now?
- He works at Warner Bros.
- Can we give this to him? Have him sell it?
- No, we can't--
- How much did we spend on this?
- Ninety-five.
- Million?
- Well, yeah.
- How is that possible? I can see their hands.
- I know.
- I can SEE their HUMAN hands.
- It was the technology.
- What technology?
- The, um, the...digital fur technology.
- That's not a thing.
- It is.
- It can't be.
- It--it is.
- You know they have these things called...costumes, right?
- I know.
- That you don't--that don't cost NINETY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.
- We thought it would play big overseas.
- Where overseas?
- Japan.
- Japan.
- Mostly Japan.
- It's not going to do ninety-five million dollars IN JAPAN.
- We know.
- It's gotta sell somewhere other than--and what the hell is wrong with people in Japan that they would--
- We don't ask. We just...send them stuff like this and they...they really enjoy it.
- Jesus.
- We know.
- Something to do with video games and, uh, isolationism or--
- Why does Judi Dench keep lifting her leg?
- Well, she's a cat.
- Can she--the woman is in her eighties. How is she this flexible?
- It's impressive, right? We were thinking of pushing her for Best Supporting--
- No.
- I mean, early on, we were--
- No, no, no. She--the woman lifts her leg and hisses. We can't do this to her. She's a legend. I mean--can we--we can't do this to--Does Ian McKellen know he's in this?
- He does.
- Are you sure?
- He does. He--
- I need you to be REALLY sure that he knows he's in this.
- He was very excited to play Gus the Theater Cat.
- Is that...is that his name?
- There was a whole song--
- The songs are nonsense. Everything is nonsense. Is there--is there a plot or--
- Yeah, it's--
- Idris Elba--
- Was he a cat?
- They're all cats.
- He didn't look like a cat.
- He--yes.
- Why are they all wearing fur? If we spent all this money so they could have fur, why are they WEARING fur on top of the fur?
- It was a...stylistic choice?
- So Idris Elba is a cat and he--he keeps making the other cats disappear.
- Onto a boat.
- Right. Why on a boat? Why not just--obliterate them? That's what it looks like.
- We thought that would be too violent.
- Oh.
- As opposed to--
- As opposed to teleporting them onto a boat?
- Yes.
- With a cat pirate?
- There are piratical cats.
- Please get out.
- I'm sorry.
- No, just--can someone show him out?
- I'll--this way, George.
- Thank you. Okay, so--wait--am I crazy or at one point did they say there were scatological cats?
- They--they do say that.
- We let that line in?
- It's in the show?
- Do they teleport in the show too?
- No, we made that up.
- Why is he teleporting them?
- To eliminate his competition because he wants to ride the chandelier attached to the hot-air balloon into the heavenly layer.
- What the hell did you just say?
- It's, uh--
- You added all that in?
- Only some of it so that it wouldn't be so confusing.
- You added teleporting to make this LESS confusing?
- It might not have worked.
- Oh, it didn't.
- Right.
- It didn't at all.
- In the show they just sort of step forward and say 'Hi, I'm This Cat or That Cat' and then they do a dance and then at the end--
- That's the show?
- Yes.
- That's the show that ran for TWENTY YEARS?
- Yes.
- God, people are--
- Yes.
- No wonder we're--
- Yes.
- Okay, so--then at the end--Judi Dench chooses the Jennifer Hudson cat.
- Yes.
- Why?
- She--she sings that song.
- What is that song about?
- How she used to be pretty.
- She's still--I mean, I don't know if she's any less pretty than the other--I mean, they're all cats.
- Well, you have to admit, she's not AS pretty as some of the other--
- She's a #$%#%-ing cat!
- I know that.
- We're debating the attractiveness of CATS!
- I mean, some are definitely hotter than others.
- Get out.
- I'm just--
- He's actually backing up some of our test research.
- What research?
- The research that shows that, um, some people who had--who didn't totally--HATE--the film, uh, hated it less, uh, because they were, uh, well, sexually interested in--
- No.
- A few of the--
- No.
- Mainly Skimbleshanks.
- Is that a cat?
- Yes.
- Get out.
- We're thinking action figures.
- Kill me.
- Don't you think it's sort of nice when Grizabella goes off into the sky?
- Who's Grizabella?
- The Glamour Cat.
- Is that Jennifer Hudson?
- Yes.
- So they murder her?
- No, she's going off to the Heavenly layer.
- They stick her in a chandelier and send her up into the sky. What do you think happens to her after that? She lands on an island full of old mangy glamour cats who lay on the beach licking their #$% all the live long day?
- It's just nice to see her happy after what she went through.
- What did she go through?
- She was, uh, well, she lives in the red light district so--
- She's a sex working cat?
- Uh, well--
- We have sex workers in this movie?
- It's implied.
- Never show this to children.
- Right, we weren't--
- Never. Show. This. To. Children.
- Right.
- And the milk-guzzling. My god.
- Did you like Macavity?
- Who?
- Macavity.
- Who's that? Is that James Corden?
- No, it's--
- His entire song is about eating. Didn't he JUST get mad at people for fat-shaming him and then he does a whole song about how fat he is?
- Not him, the cat.
- He's a fat cat.
- Get out.
- No, Macavity is Idris Elba.
- What's with his eyes?
- It's his magical powers.
- Do they all have magical powers?
- No.
- But they can all dance?
- That's not a magical power. That's just because it's a musical.
- And this takes place in London?
- Yes.
- But, like, a--alternative Universe London.
- Are there humans in this London?
- No./Yes.
- There's a human right at the beginning of the--
- Oh god.
- It ran for years on Broadway.
- If even a third of the people who saw it on Broadway come see this, we're good.
- We're golden.
- We'll be--
- We'll be so good.
- I...I guess.
- I mean, for something to be as popular as this was--
- There has to be a reason.
- There has to be.
- But that's what you said about Phantom and then--
- Well, that wasn't very good.
- And you think THIS is?
- This is--I think--the best Cats can possibly be.
- Okay.
- Right.
- Yes.
- BUT WHO IS IT FOR?
- The people who went to see the show.
- They're still going to see it. It's been on tour forever.
- So if any of those people go see it, we're good.
- We're good.
- It's like 'Hahaha it's Cats' but then it makes a fortune. That's what always happens.
- That has never not happened with this show.
- People make fun of it, and then--Bam! Big hit.
- Okay.
- Watch, you'll see. Huge hit.
- Just--the way that they're guzzling that milk.
- We could tone that down a little, yeah.
- And the human faces on the cockroaches.
- Those are--
- And the mice.
- Yeah.
- And the proportions are all--
- We're going to work on that in post.
- And the boobs.
- It's that or cat nipples.
- Jesus.
- So we went with boobs, because--
- Yeah.
- Just seemed like the lesser of two--
- And the soliloquy at the end. Do we--do we need a soliloquy to--
- We were hoping Judi might be in the running for a--
- No.
- Okay.
- No, no, no.
- Okay.
- I just--
- Yeah.
- It's--
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- Wow, wow, wow.
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