If you remember, Tom Hooper's 2019 reimagination of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats was a CGI musical fantasy that many were not feeling and Jennifer Hudson, one of the film's stars, would like to have a word about its reception.
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The film tanked at the box office and was so terribly reviewed that it only has a 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Hudson portrayed Grizabella the Glamour Cat and is firmly standing in her decision to be a part of the film. In a recent interview with Total Film, she explained, "I loved that you asked about Cats! You know what? I think it was a bit overwhelming. It’s unfortunate that it was misunderstood."
She continued, "I think later down the line, people will see it differently. But it is something I am still very proud of and grateful to have been a part of. Yeah, I got to be Grizabella the Glamour Cat!" Her performance of "Memory" was one of the few takeaways from Cats that received praise from critics.
Hudson enjoyed the experience so much that she even got two cats of her own: Grizabella (after her character) and Macavity after Idris Elba’s feline alter ego. She considers them "the best thing [she's] ever had." In early 2020, Taylor Swift (who portrayed Bombalurina) also defended the film to Vanity Fair, saying, "I had a really great time working on that weird-a** movie."
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