After Cats bombed at the box office, fans and critics were quick to poke fun at the visual effects involved in the film. It was a tall order for even the world’s best visual artists to make something worthwhile out of an insane idea and that’s something the Visual Effects Society agrees with, especially after a stunt The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences pulled Sunday night. While presenting the Oscar for Best Visual Effect, Cats stars James Corden and Rebel Wilson arrived on stage in cat Halloween costumes with their faces painted — all in an attempt to poke fun at the film’s visual effects.
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The jest led the Visual Effect Society to issue a statement condemning the act, especially during the biggest awards show in all of Hollywood. “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,” the statement reads.
The group then goes on the explain that visual effects artists can only be as good as the story told by the director and screenwriter, suggesting the artists can only do so much. The remainder of the statement can be found below.
“The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly,” the VFX Society continues. “On a night that is all about honoring 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.”
“Moving forward, we hope that The Academy will properly honor the craft of visual effects – and all of the crafts, including cinematography and film editing – because we all deserve it.”
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