Could we love Joss Whedon anymore? No, I don’t think so. Whedon, who most recently is known for his work on Marvel’s The Avengers, has released the official trailer for his independent film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. The film, based on the classic comedy by William Shakespeare was both adapted and directed by Whedon and starred many of his actor friends from past projects.
The project was filmed in just 12 days entirely on location in exotic Santa Monica. The cast included actors who are already well know, some who are veteran Shakespeare performers and some that are completely brand new. It was shot in black and white by Jay Hunter. The cast features Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof as Beatrice and Benedick, the world’s least likely lovers headed for their inevitable tumble into love .The supporting cast includes Nathan Fillion as Dogberry, Clark Gregg as Leonato, Fran Kranz as Claudio and Reed Diamond as Don Pedro.
Kranz said regarding the secret project,
He shot that while he was on vacation,” says Kranz. “I remember he said he was going to go to Italy with his wife and kids, then all of a sudden he started to shoot a movie, which is crazy… He does a lot of readings at his house, he’s a great host. He always has people over, but he likes to have something to do, something specific. Sometimes he’ll read plays. One night we all read ‘A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream’. He called me one day and said he was thinking about doing ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, but filming it this time. That struck me as doing something handheld, with a Flipcam or something. Not something big with grip trucks, all of this equipment and stuff. But that’s what it turned into.”
Kranz also went on to explain how Whedon wanted the project to be different and natural between all the performers.
He turned his home into a movie set,” Kranz continues. “He had extras and all of that. We had no idea. But I think that’s what he wanted. He wanted us to go into it with a casual feel and to do Shakespeare like you’re not used to seeing. He didn’t want big production value or it to be over-rehearsed. I think he wanted it to be natural. It might be a bizarre benefit to it that we didn’t master the language. The other actors all came from different places so it was an eclectic group. It’s Shakespeare, the language is rich and dense… I think it could be this wonderful blessing that it feels intimate, alive and casual and fun. I hope that bleeds off the screen and will be refreshing for audiences. I haven’t seen it yet, but I trust Joss always and I think it’s going to be awesome.”
As Whedon says,
“The text is to me a deconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a love letter – to the text, to the cast, even to the house it’s shot in.”
The film opens in North America on June 7 and in the UK and Ireland on June 14. You can see the trailer below:
