I didn’t read any reviews for ‘Cats’, says Dame Judi
DAME JUDI Dench says she has not read any reviews for the much-derided film Cats.
The star-studded big screen adaptation of Lord Lloyd-Webber’s classic musical was a critical and commercial flop, with criticism focusing on the CGI effects, plot and acting performances.
Cats was named worst film of the year at the 40th Golden Raspberry Awards, while James Corden and Rebel Wilson were also “honoured” and York-born Dame Judi, 85, was nominated for worst supporting actress. Despite the critical mauling, she admits she has not read any of the reviews.
Speaking to John Humphrys on Classic FM, Dame Judi said critics had been “probably very unkind about Cats” but “I don’t read any notices anyway”.
After Humphreys said reviewers were not “unkind” about her portrayal of Old Deuteronomy, Dame Judi replied: “I think they were. I think probably so. You always know when a friend comes to see you and they say, ‘well Derek actually quite liked it’... You always know, oh hello, I’m in trouble now.”
Dame Judi, an Oscar winner for 1998 comedy-drama Shakespeare In Love, is one of the nation’s most revered actors, with a glittering career spanning seven decades on stage and screen.
Despite her lengthy screen career, Dame Judi says she is “not at ease with filming.”
She added: “I’m more at ease now than I’ve ever been but it’s just everything, there’s something always thrown up all the time, something you haven’t done before that you’ve got to learn about. Then I rarely see the film.”
Tune into A Classical Conversation with John Humphrys on Friday at 9pm on Classic FM.