Judi Dench Says Panned ‘Cats’ Film Was a ‘Waste’ of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Goodwill and Talent’: ‘Oh God, I Can’t Bear It’

Judi Dench writes in her forthcoming memoir that the 2019 film adaptation of *Cats* was “a waste” of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s goodwill and talent. The film, directed by Tom Hooper, was widely panned and commercially unsuccessful despite its high-profile cast.

Dench played Old Deuteronomy and says she never saw the final cut, so cannot judge it herself; she was nominated for a Razzie for her performance. She says nobody set out to make a bad film and that the production had no villains, reflecting that creative projects can fail when their elements do not come together. Her memoir, *Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?*, is due out on 3 November.