Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing” reads like a who’s who of stars from his former shows. Based on the play by William Shakespeare and directed and adapted by Whedon, the movie stars:
- Nathan Fillion as Dogberry
- Alexis Denisof as Benedick
- Amy Acker as Beatrice
- Ashley Johnson as Margaret
- Clark Gregg as Leonato
- Fran Kranz as Claudio
- Riki Lindhome as Conrade
- Sean Maher as Don John
- Spencer Treat Clark as Borachio
- Reed Diamond as Don Pedro
- Tom Lenk at Verges
- Jillian Morgese as Hero
Seriously, who are they trying to kid? These people all just wanted to work together again, right? And who can blame them? What a fun set that must have been, with such distinguished alumni from “Firefly,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and I’m sure other Whedon shows.
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The classic Shakespeare comedy — an official selection of the 2012 Toronto Film Festival — was modern’d up by Whedon and shot in just 12 days on location in “exotic Santa Monica” (classic Whedon notes from the press release).
More from the press release:
The film features a stellar cast of beloved (or soon to be beloved) actors – some of them veterans of Shakespearean theater, some completely new to the form. But all dedicated to the idea that this story bears retelling, that this dialogue is as fresh and intoxicating as any being written, and that the joy of working on a passion project surrounded by dear friends, admired colleagues and an atmosphere of unabashed rapture far outweighs their hilariously miniature paychecks.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is the first feature from Bellwether, a micro-studio created by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole for the production of small, independent narratives for all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a somewhat older story.
Shot in glorious black and white by Jay Hunter (PAPER HEART, “Dollhouse”), the film stars Amy Acker (CABIN IN THE WOODS, “Alias”) and Alexis Denisof (“How I Met Your Mother”, “Angel”) as Beatrice and Benedick, the world’s least likely lovers headed for their inevitable tumble into love. As Joss Whedon puts it: “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 supporting cast includes Nathan Fillion (“Castle”, WAITRESS) as Dogberry, Clark Gregg (AVENGERS, IRON MAN) as Leonato, Fran Kranz (CABIN IN THE WOODS, “Dollhouse”) as Claudio and Reed Diamond (“Franklin & Bash”, MONEYBALL) as Don Pedro.
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