Joss Whedon’s contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is now playing in theaters.  The micro-budget film was completed in just twelve days at his house, and stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, and Nathan Fillion.  For more on the film, here is Matt’s review and all our previous coverage which includes clips, posters, and images.

During the recent L.A. press day, I landed an extended video interview with Fillion.  He talked about making Much Ado, the complicated dialogue, if he agrees to whatever Joss Whedon asks of him, Twitter, what he geeks out over, his thoughts on the Star Wars sequels, the idea of appearing as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in another movie as a cameo, and more.  In addition, he talks about his voice role for Monsters University and his Pixar fandom, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and his appreciation for star Logan Lerman, Justice Leage: The Flashpoint Paradox, and reveals he’ll be at Comic-Con next month for Nerd Machine.  Hit the jump to watch.

When Shakespeare meets Joss Whedon for Much Ado About Nothing, the result is a contemporary spin that was shot in just 12 days in his house.  The story of sparring lovers Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof) is a series of comic and tragic events that offer a dark, sexy and, at times, absurd view of the game of love.  The film also stars Clark Gregg, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Reed Diamond, Tom Lenk and Jillian Morgese.

During this press conference at the film’s press day, co-stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion and Clark Gregg joined Joss Whedon to talk about why Much Ado About Nothing out of all of Shakespeare’s plays, the advantages of doing this in black and white, delivering Shakespeare dialogue versus Whedon dialogue, why Shakespeare is relevant to today’s audiences, the rehearsal process, deciding how much of the original text to trim, and what they took away from the experience.  Whedon also talked about going from doing a movie as big as The Avengers before switching gears to do a film as small as Much Ado, getting his dream cast, telling a story where no one dies, and the pressures of doing pop culture TV versus the classics of literature.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  Much Ado about Nothing opens today in limited release.]

With a few exceptions, William Shakespeare‘s trips to the big screen have been sumptuous affairs. The plays favor an expansive vision by the director, so we get films like Julie Taymor‘s Titus and Kenneth Branagh‘s Hamlet. But one of the many beautiful things about Shakespeare is how flexible it is in terms of setting. You can set it on a modern battlefield (Ralph Fiennes‘ Coriolanus), in a high school (Tim Blake Nelson‘s Othello adaptation, O), or in the case of Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado about Nothing, in an upper-class home. Whedon’s Much Ado is a bold challenge for the director not because his adaptation lacks fancy costumes or production design, but because he removes two of his greatest assets: his dialogue and a budget. Of course, nothing Whedon (or anyone else) could write would surpass the Bard, but it’s an entertaining exercise seeing the director speak only in a visual language, and then having his budget limit what visuals he has available. With no money and another author’s work, Whedon finds his film’s strength in the superb cast, clever staging, and an expert understanding of dialogue.

Monsters University will be here soon, and I like what I’m seeing.  I like it so much that I’ve seen enough.  Even though we post plenty of trailers, clips, and featurettes on the site, I don’t watch all of them if I’m already interested in the film.  That stuff is for the people who need more convincing.  So if you’re still unsure about Monsters University, we have seven clips and 13 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage featuring the cast from Pixar’s upcoming prequel recording their lines.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and behind-the-scenes footage.  The film features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

Disney-Pixar has released the final trailer for Monsters University. The prequel shows how Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) became best friends during their time at college. I’ve been a bit wary about the prequel, but this trailer put those doubts to rest. The film looks incredibly funny but also has heart. This goes along with the positive buzz I’ve been hearing, and it looks like Monsters University could be the movie that gets Pixar back on track to the high quality we’ve come to expect from them.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger. Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

If you didn’t get enough of Nathan Fillion in the new trailer for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, a new clip has been released featuring the actor in Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado about Nothing.  In the modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s play, Fillion plays Dogberry, a comically incompetent constable who is tasked with uncovering the sinister plot of Don John (Sean Maher).  In this clip, Conrade (Riki Lindhome), one of Don John’s followers, calls Dogberry an ass, and the constable responds in a flustered manner.  Even though some audiences may have trouble following Shakespeare’s language, there’s no mistaking the hilarity of Fillion’s body language and exaggerated expressions.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, and click here to read my review from TIFF.  The film also stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, and Reed Diamond.  Much Ado about Nothing opens in limited release on June 7th.

A new trailer Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been released.  The follow-up finds the titular Percy (Logan Lerman) and his friends venturing to a mythical land known as the Sea of Monsters to retrieve a golden fleece that is essential to the survival of his home.  Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) takes over directing duties from Chris Columbus this time around, and this trailer actually looks pretty fun.  The creature designs are neat and the action sequences look to be visually exciting, and we also get an extended look at Nathan Fillion as Hermes.  Lerman really impressed with his performance in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and he already looks more in command in Sea of Monsters than he did in the first film.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Missi Pyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Mary Birdsong.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens in 3D on August 16th.

Disney has released a new trailer for the Monsters, Inc. prequel Monsters University.  The pic focuses on the college years of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman), and this new full-length trailer reveals the film’s plot.  The Revenge of the Nerds-esque story finds Mike and Sully joining a fraternity of outcasts, as all of the Greek houses must compete against each other in the Scare Games, which carry dire consequences for the losers.  The film looks like it could be Pixar’s most purely fun movie yet, and early reactions from the screening at CinemaCon had many praising the pic’s heart.  If you missed any of Dave’s coverage from his visit to Pixar, be sure to check out his review from seeing 40 minutes of footage, 35 things to know about the film, and his interview with director Dan Scanlon.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger. Monsters University opens June 21, 2013.

While The Avengers 2 is still very much in the pre-production stage and we haven’t heard much movement recently on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, everyone will have their Joss Whedon fix very soon.  The UK trailer for his new movie, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, was just released, showing a bit more of the film than the first trailer.  Much Ado tells the story of two stubborn individuals, Beatrice and Benedick, and their haphazard journey to finding love with each other that involves a ridiculous amount of deception and wit.  This one gives glimpses into the interwoven drama with jabs of comedy Whedon is more known for, and I for one am very excited to see him take on an updated but understated version of this classic.  I like that he’s kept the original text, but is playing with the tone and creating a new feel for it.

The cast includes many of Whedon’s mainstays, such as Amy Adams, Alexis Denisof, Clark Gregg, Sean Maher, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Tom Lenk, Reed Diamond, and Ashley Johnson.  I love seeing Whedon bring back his beloved roster of actors, and I have no doubt that the combination of the cast he’s chosen and his distinctive style of filmmaking and directing will provide something fun and entertaining.  The film is set for a June 7th release.  Hit the jump for the trailer.

Even though Monsters University is only a few months away, Pixar has been keeping the voice cast under wraps.  Today, EW is reporting that Nathan Fillion, John Krasinski, and Bonnie Hunt will be voicing new monsters in the upcoming prequel.  Fillion and Krasinski are newcomers to the Pixar world, but Hunt has been a longtime collaborator with the studio having voiced characters in A Bug’s Life, Cars, Toy Story 3, and Monsters, Inc. (although she’ll be voicing a new character).

Hit the jump for descriptions of Fillion, Krasinski, and Hunt’s characters, along with some new images.  The film also features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

Joss Whedon brought his version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy Much Ado about Nothing to WonderCon in a special presentation.  Much of the cast of the impromptu production joined Whedon on stage in order to screen the recently-released trailer and two exclusive clips from the film.  The panel also shared behind-the-scenes anecdotes about how Whedon recruited them for the film, the experience of contemporizing Shakespeare and just how many of them were drunk during filming (off-screen…of course).

Much Ado about Nothing stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher and Nathan Fillion and opens in limited release on June 7th.  Hit the jump for our panel recap.

The first trailer Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been released.  The first Percy Jackson received mixed critical response and lukewarm box office, but the sequel seems to be retaining the same tone even though Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) has replaced Chris Columbus at the helm.  Hopefully, the sequel will have a better plot, but since this trailer appears to give away a lot of the movie, it already looks overcrowded with the best moment belonging to Nathan Fillion, who plays Hermes.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Missi Pyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Mary Birdsong.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens in 3D on August 16th.

The trailer for Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado about Nothing has been released.  For those unfamiliar with William Shakespeare‘s play, it follows the trick to bring the bickering Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedict (Alexis Denisof) together, and the deception to tear apart the enamored Claudio (Fran Kranz) and Hero (Jillian Morgese) apart.  I caught the film at TIFF, and I was charmed by Whedon’s low-budget exercise in trying to tell a comedy without using his own snappy dialogue.  This trailer makes the film look a little more intense, but it’s understandable when trying to sell Shakespeare to a modern audience.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, and Nathan Fillion.  Much Ado about Nothing opens in limited release on June 7th.

Around this time last year, we found out that Joss Whedon (The Avengers) had completed an entire movie in secret; that movie was a contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.  The film recently screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival (you can read Matt’s review of it here) and scored a big prize when it was reported that Lionsgate had acquired the film, along with sister company, Roadside Attractions.  The micro-budget film was completed in just twelve days in Santa Monica and features such Whedonesque regulars as Amy Acker (The Cabin in the Woods), Nathan Fillion (Firefly) and, now, Clark Gregg (The Avengers).  Hit the jump for more on the acquisition and to see what Whedon himself had to say about it.

With a few exceptions, William Shakespeare‘s trips to the big screen have been sumptuous affairs.  The plays favor an expansive vision by the director, so we get films like Julie Taymor‘s Titus and Kenneth Branagh‘s Hamlet.  But one of the many beautiful things about Shakespeare is how flexible it is in terms of setting.  You can set it on a modern battlefield (Ralph Fiennes‘ Coriolanus), in a high school (Tim Blake Nelson‘s Othello adaptation, O), or in the case of Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado about Nothing, in an upper-class home.  Whedon’s Much Ado is a bold challenge for the director not because of fancy costumes or complex staging, but because he removes two of his greatest assets: his dialogue and a budget.  Of course, nothing Whedon (or anyone else) could write would surpass the Bard, but it’s an entertaining exercise seeing the director speak only in a visual language, and then having his budget limit what visuals he has available.  With no money and another author’s work, Whedon finds his film’s strength in the superb cast, clever staging, and an expert understanding of dialogue.