James Corden Admits He Halfway Regrets Doing ‘Cats’
It’s not that unusual for a celebrity famous for other things to rib a flop movie they’ve been in. The 21st century version of that may now come down to the cinematic disaster Cats and The Late Late Show’s James Corden’s initial excitement about joining the cast.
In the abstract, no doubt it was fun to sign on to the idea that a movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats was finally going to be made. Perhaps what sold everyone on it was because a movie version of the famous stage musical had been on the drawing board for years. Also, director Tom Hooper was probably a good salesman in pitching his ideas to everyone involved.
During a recent segment on Corden’s show, Justin Bieber managed to make former reveal there was halfway regret doing the movie.
How did Corden work around the subject without offending anyone?
Some big movie bombs simply become a joke that everyone responds to without offense. Even during the Oscars, Corden and Rebel Wilson came out in real cat costumes to poke fun at Cats. From now until eternity, this movie musical will likely be known as one of Hollywood’s biggest fumbles.
Being a product of musical theater, though, Corden clearly was a fan of the original musical. Yet, he knows he can use being in Cats as a joke for all future material.
He’s already addressed it tangentially, but not point blank in a Q&A. During a recent “Spill Your Guts, or Fill Your Guts” segment on The Late Late Show, Justin Bieber challenged Corden to rate from 1 to 10 how much he regretted acting in Cats.
Corden and other celebrities have often regretted being dared to tell the truth. Somehow, Corden managed to find a workaround by going halfway.
Loving the experience, but recognizing the disaster
As Corden began to answer, he noted he only worked on the movie for six days. Although he claims he loved every minute of the experience, something more than noticeable with how much of a good time the cast was clearly having.
Many movie bombs in history were usually made as a chance for casts to merely get together and have a party rather than worry about making something great. In that regard, nobody can blame Corden for having a good time. He ultimately admitted to giving his experience a 5…then downgraded to a 4.5.
Not that the Cats debacle should ever end any hopes for him on the big screen again. After all, he did appear in the better received musical adaptation of Into the Woods back in 2014.
Does it end any hopes of Corden appearing in more movie musicals?
The musical side of Corden is more than evidenced whenever doing musical parodies on The Late Late Show. Appearing in movie musicals would probably benefit him more, despite so few being made.
Of course, they seem to ebb and flow every few years. When La La Land became an Oscar darling, everyone thought movie musicals would become the norm again. They didn’t, outside of some upcoming exceptions.
With West Side Story coming out in December (from Steven Spielberg), musicals might be taken seriously again as award contenders. Perhaps then Corden can find himself in a movie musical where he’ll be truly recognized for talent rather than mockery.
In the meantime, he’s carved out significant screen time as a voice actor in animated films, a cinematic form where musicals still seem to work.
