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.
Synopsis: ‘In this new pandemic thriller, humanity is battling intelligent, adrenaline-fueled creatures born from a viral super-strain. After being bitten, human survivor Morgan (Matt Smith) realizes he is asymptomatic and can communicate with the infected, leading the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.’
Synopsis: ‘Living under the Hollywood sign, single gay dad Quentin Lee juggles between raising his newborn baby by himself and making his means as an acclaimed independent film director with hilarity and drama. “What have I gotten myself into!?” Gay Hollywood Dad chronicles the first six weeks of Quentin’s journey as a single dad from cutting his son’s umbilical cord in a hospital of Ohio to sleepless nights feeding the baby to bringing the baby to his independent film premiere.’
We reviewed Miles back when it screened at the Iris Prize Festival – 
Synopsis: ‘Which call do you answer? The one you feel from God or the one you feel about your authentic self? This is the dillema at hand for Brother Vito as he must decide between becoming a Brother or declaring his love for Gabe. Shot entirely in Austin, TX and with a local cast and crew, Brotherly Love is a fresh take on the traditional gay love story.’
Director Robert Zemeckis returns with Welcome To Marwen, which some think may be in the award season running next year (although it’s way too early to say). It’s certainly being lined up for an awards run with a late 2018 release planned. The new trailer shows it could be powerful if done right, showcasing Zemeckis’ love of bringing effects and technology to stories you might not initially think would need them.
You just can’t trust them Nazis, they’re always doing naughty things. That’s certainly true in Overlord, where the Nazis have created a village full of zombies.
Assassination Nation made a bit of a splash at Sundance, with good reviews and a huge distribution deal. Now we get a taste of the movie with a new trailer.
Last week we had the trailer for the first of two major movies about so-called ‘gay conversion therapy’, the largely discredited idea that you can coerce people into changing their sexuality. The first movie was The Miseducation Of Cameron Poster, starring Chloe Grace Moretz, and now we get our first look at the second, Boy Erased.
The Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody was in the works for years, working its ways through numerous directors and potential stars before it finally settled on Bryan Singer behind the camera and Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. However, drama hit when Singer was sensationally fired after problems on set and then taking an unscheduled break. He was replaced by Dexter Fletcher.
Synopsis: ‘The film tells an inspiring and spirited true story that follows young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination. The feature will premiere in 2018 in line with Justice Ginsburg’s 25th anniversary on the Supreme Court.’