A year ago today — December 16, 2019 — the movie musical CATS had its official U.S. premiere in New York City.  Despite an all-star cast that included Dame Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, James Corden, Idris Elba and even Taylor Swift, the movie was a complete flop, both critically and commercially. But Jason Derulo, who played Rum Tum Tugger in the film, says he’s still glad he did it.

“Oh, absolutely, unequivocally. It was an experience for me,” Jason tells ABC Audio. “I had such a great time shooting it. I built lasting relationships and that’s life, you know?  Like, everything that you do is not going to rise to the top. And that’s totally fine.”

“I think it’s a lesson for me and I think it’s a lesson for everybody,” he adds. “Just because you have a room full of the world’s most famous people does not mean it’s built for success.”

Saying the movie wasn’t a success is a bit of an understatement:  CATS was estimated to have lost its studio $114 million, and it’s also made the list of the worst films of all time.  In fact, it “won,” if you could call it that, six Golden Raspberry Awards — Razzies —  including Worst Picture overall.

Still, Jason says he’s happy that he was a part of it, because it really helped to educate him about moviemaking.

“To me, like, it was still a humongous learning experience, I had a great time doing it,” he insists.

“And yeah, I’ll continue to do the projects that speak to me, and I felt like that one did,” he adds. “And, y’know, the outcome is what the outcome is. And I continue to move and continue to enjoy life, and I think that’s the most important [thing].”

By Andrea Dresdale
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