Grumpy Cat Gets A Movie Deal

By Elisa Black-Taylor

Grumpy Cat has now been signed to star in her own movie. She is a household name around the world, with more than 930,000 likes on her Facebook page. She’s had television appearances on Today, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News and Anderson Cooper Live. Her next big deal may be the big screen.

Grumpy cat exploitation
Grumpy cat exploitation. Photo by David Berkowitz (words by Michael)

The project is being created by New Line, with Mark Steilen doing the writing and Will Ferrell and Jack Black starring.

Broken Road’s Todd Garner and Sean Robins have teamed up with Grumpy Cat’s manager Ben Lashes and representative Al Hassas to make a Garfield type of movie staring the famous diva.

This is likely to be a good business decision, considering the awards Tardar Sauce (A.K.A. Grumpy Cat) picked up in 2012. MSNBC named her the most influential cat of 2012. Mashable awarded her a most important Meme in 2012. And lets not forget the 120,000 subscribers and over 20 million hits to YouTube.

Grumpy Cat also has a line of her own merchandise available at major retailers, including Wal Mart and has partnered with Friskies for even more publicity.

I wonder what kind of plot we’ll be seeing with Grumpy Cat. I can picture her in a movie similar to That Darn Cat, which was made when I was very young. Of course, movie makers need to remember a cat will not perform on command. A cat will do what a cat wants when the cat feels like doing it.

Would the readers here like to see a movie with Grumpy Cat as the star? Or do you think it’s exploitation?

Let’s just leave the sweet little critter alone and let her nap in peace…(Amanda Kooser at cnet)

I grew up in the days of Bengi and Lassie and Rin Tin Tin (oops, that last one REALLY gives away my age!). But those were dogs, who I believe are much more reliable when it comes to tricks for treats. I think it would depend on how the movie trailer looks as to whether I’d want to bother seeing the movie. I’m not a big fan of Will Ferrell anyway. I do enjoy Jack Black, but I’d be seeing the movie because I enjoy his work more than because a cat is starring.

The one question I ask myself anytime I see this poor cat is “will she ever have the chance to live a normal life?” My cats are in the spotlight, to an extent, but only to the point of my chasing them around with a camera. They never have to perform on command as making a full length movie would require. Also people are forgetting that she has a deformity and may be in discomfort.

I’m afraid Grumpy Cat will find the entire situation boring, or stressful. Either way, she’s likely to feel as grumpy as she looks by the time Hollywood finishes with this newest project and she already has a reason to feel grumpy. There is also a big question mark over whether such a film can be successful. Is this going too far, squeezing too much out of a vulnerable little cat?

Elisa

20 thoughts on “Grumpy Cat Gets A Movie Deal”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. Freaks, both humans and animals have always been exploited in society for sheer voyeurism.Charles .Barnum was the most famous man for introducing freaks in his circus acts for “Barnum & Bailey” circus.The same is happening to “Grumpy cat” in the modern 21st century era, the human owners profiting and hopefully a little money from the profits going to cat or animal charity.

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  3. I think she is the sweetest thing. however Micheal has a very valid point, Tardar is a special cat. I believe a few pic here & there r fine, especially if they r taken in her normal activities. the few times I’ve seen her move, it seems to be a bit of a problem for her. making some money to care for her isn’t a bad thing as long as she is alright. it should all be about her & her brothers welfare, food, meds, proper living cond, love would be nice.

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    • Absolutely agree with you. Some pictures and a video would be OK if created respectfully. Make some money and use it to help kids or cats or something like that and how about some therapy cat work? Personally I think people have conveniently brushed discomfort and health issues under the carpet because it stands in the way of making money.

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  4. I’d really like to think Sealy influenced a lot of people in 2012. But he didn’t win any awards because I only photograph him for short periods of time. I’ll bet people think twice about cranking a car once they’ve read his story. His days are spent relaxing on his pillow. Yesterday he played nurse to Laura because she’s very sick. He’s still right by her side.

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  5. Aha! That’s where the CGI and special effects will come in–putting her distinguishing characteristics on a less grumpy kitty. But if they did a car chase or an explosion while she is there, all bets are off.

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  6. She wil l probably have body doubles and stunt doubles among cats who are more or less trained. Usually with an animal star there are multiples so nobody gets too tired or stressed.
    If Grumpy grins, you’ll know there’s something wrong!

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  7. People know my views on this. I’ll just briefly restate that it was exploitation several months ago, but now it is gross exploitation. There is little regard for the cat and it is disrespectful of this cat. She is a deformed cat and that may not solely be a case of her physical appearance being different. She may have discomfort or pain. We know how good cats are at concealing pain. Her owners are making a lot of money from their cat. They have made weak claims that they give some money to charity. Feeble. How much? A tiny fraction is my guess and as a public relations exercise. It sort of disgusts me, I am sorry to say.

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