Things were cut a tiny bit close for the world premiere of Cats it would seem.
Speaking with Variety on the red carpet, director Tom Hopper revealed the film had only been finished the day before. “I finished it at 8 a.m. yesterday after 36 hours in a row. I just put the finishing touches on. So, I’m very happy to be here with it fully finished,” Hooper said. “The premiere should be the first time people get to see it, and this is genuinely a premiere,” he concluded with a laugh.
Mere hours after the premiere, the finished cut was playing before the hours of reviewers who are still currently under embargo. Definitely a check in the positives column for the technological advancement of digital distribution of films.
Following the release of the first trailer, audience reactions to the footage were definitely on the negative side. Hopper and Universal apparently took this on board and used that feedback to make adjustments. Will it pay off? We’ll just have to wait and see when Cats finally hits theaters on Dec. 20.
