For all the people who tried to break into Hollywood writing scripts or making a web show or working as a PA, think of how much better off you’d be if only you’d adopted a funny-looking cat instead. Grumpy Cat, the cat that frowned its way into all our hearts, is getting a movie deal. How does a cat get a movie deal, you ask? Well, they say it’s going to be a “Garfield-like feature” with a talking Grumpy Cat as the star. Garfield was a mix of CG and live action with an all CG cat, and animating Grumpy Cat is probably easier than teaching her to act. Plus, cats don’t always live as long as it takes movies to get made. (What? It’s true.)
Broken Road’s Todd Garner and Sean Robins, and Grumpy Cat’s reps (manager Ben Lashes and rep Al Hassas) have teamed up to produce and assemble a package for a Garfield-like feature film with the famous frowning feline at the center. Here, Grumpy Cat (real name Tardar Sauce) will be given the power of speech.
Wow, Grumpy Cat has MULTIPLE “reps.” Garner, by the way, is the same guy who optioned the Wall Street Journal article about the group of guys who play adult tag that now has Will Ferrell and Jack Black attached. Quite the resume. Also, I don’t believe that “Tard-is-short-for-Tardar-Sauce” PR move for a second, that’s not even how you spell Tartar Sauce.
The cat’s official Facebook has more than 930,000 likes and a weekly reach well over 2 million. The official YouTube Channel has over 120,000 subscribers and over 20 million views. Grumpy Cat stars in a collection of webisodes in partnership with Friskies and the Will Kitty Play With It series. Grumpy Cat merchandise sells at Walmart, Hot Topic, Thinkgeek and many other retail stores. Licenses include Chronicle Books, Gund, Ripple Junction, Buckle Down, T Line, ATNY, Ultra Pro, 99 Cent Brains and more. [Deadline]
Yes, this is silly. But is it really sillier than an Angry Birds movie or that one about the snail who wants to be a racecar driver? “A cat who’s grumpy” isn’t much worse than most kids movie premises. I’m pretty sure the pitch for Madagascar was just a zebra in a clown wig. I’m just excited that Cat Management is finally a growth industry. I can picture it now: me with “PRODUCER” painted on the door in big letters, a long line of adorable, naive kitty kats fresh off the bus from Arkansas who’d claw each other’s eyes out just for a spot on my casting couch. “Hey, little darlin’, you treat these balls right and I’ll make you a star,” I’d say, handing over a ball of yarn and chomping a big cigar.
Presumptive Casting: Tommy Lee Jones as Grumpy Cat:
Amazing that anyone would purposely compare their movie idea to Garfield, isn’t it?