Much Ado about Nothing

Recap of the SERENITY Hero Complex Screening with Nathan Fillion; Also Talks MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, FIREFLY Reunion, and Joss Whedon

by Tommy Cook    Posted: May 21st, 2012 at 8:19 pm

This weekend Hero Complex in association with The Los Angeles Times hosted the third annual Hero Complex Film Festival. Highlights to which included a screening of Shaun of the Dead with Edgar Wright, Wall-E with director Andrew Stanton, A Clockwork Orange with Malcolm McDowell, and Robocop with Peter Weller.

Joss Whedon’s cult-favorite Serenity closed out the festival Sunday night.  Star Nathan Fillion was on hand to discuss the film and its short-lived television predecessor Firefly.  (I still maintain that show’s season/series finale “Objects in Space to be the finest piece of writing Whedon’s ever done.)  In the post screening Q&A, Fillion reflected on reuniting with the cast for the film, reciting Whedon’s particular cadences and previews his role in another Whedon project/film: Much Ado About Nothing.  For all this and more, hit the jump.

New AVENGERS TV Report Yields First Footage of Joss Whedon’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

by Matt Currie    Posted: April 30th, 2012 at 1:55 pm

As we come within mere days of the North American premiere of The Avengers, the anticipated marketing A-bomb has officially detonated and is in the process of spewing tiny chunks of promotional material across the globe for all to see. We’ve got special edition cola cans, fancy micro-sites, and even pint-sized LARPing…and, of course, your standard behind-the-scenes TV specials. While this one, from CBS News, is mainly a rehash of stuff we already know/have seen before, it would still be worth watching, if only for the chance to have director/geek god Joss Whedon utterly disarm you with his affable wit, as he discusses his career to date.

But here’s another reason to take a look: it features our first glimpse of Much Ado About Nothing, the self-financed, sub-independent Shakespeare adaptation Whedon shot entirely at his Santa Monica home over a period of 12 days just after The Avengers wrapped. Hit the jump to check it out.

Fran Kranz Talks THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, DEATH OF A SALESMAN and More

by Christina Radish    Posted: April 10th, 2012 at 8:26 pm

The Cabin in the Woods, from Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon – and opening (quite appropriately) in theaters on Friday, April 13^th – is a great horror film that is just so much fun to watch.  It’s creative, imaginative and hysterically funny, all while turning horror on its head and challenging anything that follows.  So as not to ruin any aspect of the film, I will just include the official synopsis which says: “Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods.  Bad things happen.”  And, do they ever!

During this recent phone interview with Collider, actor Fran Kranz (Dollhouse), who plays a pot smoking guy named Marty in the film, talked about what a big classic horror fan he is, his unusual auditioning process for the role (that included reading a monologue about his friend having gotten his head chopped off by The Clickety Clack Man), how he thought it was one of the best scripts he’s ever read, that the finished film is pretty much exactly what he originally read, how there could be some amazing bonus features on the DVD because of all the behind-the-scenes footage that was shot, and how he hopes people will love the film as much as he clearly loved getting to be a part of it.  He also talked about he got to be a part of the backyard production of Much Ado About Nothing that Joss Whedon shot at his house, what a fun and relaxed experience it was, and how he’s looking forward to seeing it, along with what it’s like to be a part of the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield, among other notables.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

New Images from Joss Whedon’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; Plus Whedon and Cast Talk About Shooting the Film in Secret

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 25th, 2011 at 8:00 am

Pretty much everyone was taken aback yesterday when it was announced that Joss Whedon had completed filming an entire movie not called The Avengers. The writer-director was able to compile and shoot an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing directly after wrapping The Avengers without a single tweet getting out. He shot the pic at his house in 12 days with a cast made up of Whedon regulars. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Whedon and some of the cast members have opened up about the secret project (which will be black-and-white) and how they pulled it off. Hit the jump to see what they had to say and for a look at the first images from the film.

Joss Whedon Wraps Shooting on Secret Adaptation of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING [Updated]

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 24th, 2011 at 7:48 am

For Joss Whedon, it looks like there’s always time for Shakespeare.  One would think that work on The Avengers would consume almost all of the writer-director’s schedule, but apparently he’s been able to squeeze in the mysterious project Much Ado about Nothing.  Since the website says “Based on a Play”, presumably it means the one by William Shakespeare.  Shakespeare’s romantic-comedy centers around two couples: the lively and interesting Beatrice and Benedict, and the mopey and less-interesting Claudio and Hero.  Both couples a betrayed by the villainous Don John, but love wins out in the end and both couples end up getting married.  Despite the lack of supernatural or sci-fi elements, it’s a story that fits nicely into Whedon’s wheelhouse of characters.

Nathan Fillion revealed the project by tweeting a link to the website, and plenty of the usual Whedon suspects have been rounded up for the cast. In addition to Fillion, there’s Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, Fran Kranz, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, plus recent collaborator Clark Gregg along with a bunch of new faces.  If you’re wondering how a project like this flies under the radar until now, it’s probably because it was a low-budget affair that Whedon cranked out over the course of a few weekends.  The photo above is from the website, but we don’t know if it’s an image from the movie, referencing from the movie, or if it’s just how Bellwether Pictures like to congratulate its productions.  I’m eager to find out Whedon’s take on the material and how he plans to distribute the picture. [Update: A full press release has appeared on the website, revealing more details about the project including who's playing what role. Hit the jump to read.]

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