On Friday, Universal Pictures made the exciting announcement that global superstar Taylor Swift and the iconic composer Andrew Lloyd Webber have written a brand new song together. The song, titled Beautiful Ghosts, will feature in the Universal Pictures adaptation of the musical Cats. Francesca Hayward will be performing the song in the film itself, and another version by Taylor Swift will play over the end credits.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's award-winning stage musical Cats is one of the longest-running musicals in the history of Broadway and the West End. Lloyd Webber's stage show was itself an adaptation of T.S. Eliot's poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and now these stories are being reimagined for a new format to bring them to a new generation. The film, directed by Tom Hooper (Les Misérables), will feature a range of music and dance styles and is due to hit our cinema screens on 20th December 2019.
The star-studded cast includes Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Idris Elba, Jason Derulo, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, and Taylor Swift herself. The character of Victoria, played by Francesca Howard, has been expanded for the screen adaptation, giving Andrew Lloyd Webber an opportunity to create a new song for her to perform. Swift, who plays Bombalurina, worked with Lloyd Webber on this.
Lloyd Webber describes their song Beautiful Ghosts as "an incredibly important and central part of the whole film"; meanwhile director Tom Hooper says that he is thrilled with the "extraordinary beauty" and "profound understanding" in Swift's lyrics. To accompany their announcement about the original song, Universal Pictures also released a behind-the-scenes video. This documents the creation and recording process of Beautiful Ghosts. You can watch the video, which includes an exclusive interview with Swift, Lloyd Webber, and Hooper, below. Visit www.CatsMovieTickets.co.uk for more information about the film.