NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM
A visual effects artist who worked on Cats has criticised James Corden and Rebel Wilson for comments they made about the film’s VFX at the Oscars on Sunday night (February 9).
The co-stars took an opportunity to mock their own movie during last weekend’s Academy Awards, where they presented an award for Best Visual Effects.
Corden and Wilson were dressed in the costumes of their characters from the much-maligned movie as they poked fun at the bizarre visual effects that were used in the film.
“As cast members of the motion picture Cats, nobody more than us understands the importance of good visual effects,” they declared to laughter and applause, before playing with the microphone stand and eventually declaring the award’s winner, 1917.
Sharing the clip of the moment to Twitter, Yves McCrae, who worked for Moving Pictures Company, a VFX house that worked on Cats, hit back at the actors.
“Hey guys I haven’t watched all of the Oscars but I assume these two were really classy and thanked me for working 80 hour weeks right up until I was laid off and the studio closed, right?” McCrae wrote on Twitter last night (February 10).
Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of kind words and support! Hearing how much people enjoyed the movie far outweighs a couple misguided jokes!
— Yves McCrae (@YvesTM) February 11, 2020
In a second tweet, he added: “Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of kind words and support! Hearing how much people enjoyed the movie far outweighs a couple misguided jokes!”
It comes after the Visual Effects Society released a statement which shared their anger at the suggestion that unfavourable VFX was to blame for Cats’ disappointing box office returns.
“Last night, in presenting the Academy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects, the producers chose to make visual effects the punchline, and suggested that bad VFX were to blame for the poor performance of the movie Cats,” a statement read on Monday. “The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly.”
It continued: “On a night that is all about honouring the work of talented artists, it is immensely disappointing that the Academy made visual effects the butt of a joke. It demeaned the global community of expert VFX practitioners doing outstanding, challenging, and visually stunning work to achieve the filmmakers’ vision.
“Our artists, technicians and innovators deserve respect for their remarkable contributions to filmed entertainment, and should not be presented as the all-too-convenient scapegoat in service for a laugh.”
Director Tom Hooper previously defended the uproar to the film’s VFX, which started following the release of the trailer.
“I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal, and it was obviously much more of a big deal than I thought,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “Reading some of the commentary was pretty entertaining.”
The big winner of the night was Parasite, which took home four awards including Best Picture – becoming the first film not in the English language to do so.
Bong-Joon ho won Best Director for the movie, while acting gongs went to Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellwegger, Brad Pitt and Laura Dern.
During the ceremony, there was also an unexpected performance from Eminem, while Billie Eilish performed a Beatles cover.
The post ‘Cats’ visual artist criticises James Corden and Rebel Wilson following ‘demeaning’ and ‘misguided’ Oscars jokes appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
