Dame Judi Dench reflects in a forthcoming memoir on the 2019 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats,” which received widespread critical and audience backlash. Dench, who played Old Deuteronomy, writes that the project was a “waste of goodwill and talent,” while adding that those involved had “honourable” intentions.
The outlets also describe Dench’s earlier comments about the costumes and her limited viewing of the final movie, saying she had declined to watch it fully at the time of a prior interview. Several sources note the orange fur costume she wore, including Dench’s earlier description comparing it to “five foxes fucking on my back,” and her criticism of changes to her character’s look.
Across the coverage, the emphasis differs slightly: HuffPost UK and The Guardian foreground Dench’s language of “waste” and her view that the “elements ‘didn’t coalesce’,” while Variety and HuffPost UK also reference other participants’ reactions, including comments from the director or co-stars. All accounts tie the remarks to Dench’s forthcoming memoir, “Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?” and to the film’s broadly negative reception.
