Andrew Lloyd Webber Lashes Out At ‘Cats’ Movie And Director

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer of the original stage hit “Cats,” delivered his cattiest comment yet about the 2019 movie version.

Months after the film flopped at the box office, Webber ripped movie director Tom Hooper for ignoring the musical’s roots and summed up the critical bomb as “ridiculous.”

“The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show,” Webber told The Sunday Times of London. “The whole thing was ridiculous.”

Just last month Webber appeared to diss James Corden for his hammy performance as Bustopher Jones.

Corden, “The Late Late Show” host, earned a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie award, and Hooper was dishonored with a Razzie for Worst Director. The movie also “won” Worst Picture.

The production, also starring Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Judi Dench and Jennifer Hudson, got hit early with thumbs-down for its photorealistic CGI portrayals of the characters in the trailer.

And it didn’t get better from there. HuffPost critics called it a “growling nightmare” when it came out in December. Then it sputtered to a $27.2 million take at the domestic box office ($73.7 million worldwide) ― well short of the reported $100 million budget. It cost Universal an additional $95 million to $100 million in marketing and distribution fees, Variety reported.