For a very long time there’s been talk about turning Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats into a movie. For various reasons – not least that despite its massive stage success it’s a very odd show, with very little plot and a far greater reliance on dance than mainstream cinema is often comfortable with. However, now it’s moving forward thanks to Tom Hooper (Les Miserables, The King’s Speech) coming on board to direct.
Now it’s starting to fill out the cast, with Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, and Ian McKellen all set to star, according to THR. They will all be members of the ‘jellicles’ a group of cats preparing for a ball where they will decide which of them will be given a new life. Hudson will play Grizabella (singer of the show’s most famous song, Memory), McKellan will be Old Deuteronomy, while Swift is likely to play the flirtatious Bombalurina. It’s not clear who Corden will be.
The current plan is for Hooper to shoot the live-action movie (rather than an animated film that often seemed to be Hollywood’s preferred option for Cats) in the UK later this year, with a script by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot). It should be in cinemas next year.
American TV has found a new love of live stagings of musical, with the likes of The Sound Of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz and most particularly Grease all having successful outings. This December Hairspray is getting the same treatment, and to help drum up interest, a teaser for the production has arrived – which certainly makes it look like this won’t stray far from the movie version, even if it has the stage version’s Harvey Fierstein in one of the key roles.
It looked like Black Nativity was done for. Earlier this year ts seemed Samuel L. Jackson was set to step into the lead, but when a deal couldn’t be made, production was delayed indefinitely and it appeared the film might be dead. However now news comes, via 
Samuel L. Jackson may be 63, but he sure ain’t slowing down and continues to be in pretty much every movie going. Now he’s got another one, as he’s signed on to star in Black Nativity, along with Angela Bassett. Jennifer Hudson is also likely to star, although she hasn’t signed a deal yet.