Universal Pictures' Cats feature is going to be a helluva thing. We'll have our first good look at the film in earnest this Friday when the studio releases the first trailer, along with a new song from star Taylor Swift, but right now, you can get a peek behind the scenes of the production. A new making-of video was released today. Among many other treats, it features Idris Elba and Swift performing their dance choreography, so that should get you through the day.

Cats also stars James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, and Rebel Wilson and introduces Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward in her feature film debut. Tom Hooper directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Lee Hall, based on T.S. Eliot's book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" and, obviously, the musical "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The movie arrives in theaters this December 20th.

Go behind the scenes of Cats with the behind-the-scenes video here:

Here's the official synopsis:

Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Misérables, The Danish Girl) transforms Andrew Lloyd Webber's record-shattering stage musical into a breakthrough cinematic event.

 

Featuring Lloyd Webber's iconic music and a world-class cast of dancers under the guidance of Tony-winning choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, In the Heights), the film reimagines the musical for a new generation with spectacular production design, state-of-the-art technology, and dance styles ranging from ballet to contemporary, hip-hop to jazz, street to tap.

 

Universal Pictures presents a Working Title Films and Amblin Entertainment production, in association with Monumental Pictures and The Really Useful Group. Cats is produced by Debra Hayward, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Tom Hooper. The screenplay is by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot, Rocketman) and Hooper, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and the stage musical by Lloyd Webber. Cats is executive produced by Lloyd Webber, Steven Spielberg, Angela Morrison and Jo Burn.

 

One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, the stage musical "Cats" received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981, where it played for 21 years and earned the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983, the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for an extraordinary 18 years. Since opening in London in 1981, "Cats" has continuously appeared on stage around the globe, to date having played to 81 million people in more than fifty countries and in nineteen languages. It is regarded as one of the most successful musicals of all time.

For more on Cats, be sure to come back this Friday for the first trailer, and read up on the musical in the meantime:

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