Joss Whedon has been secretly filming his next project after THE AVENGERS entitled MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Shot over 12 days and adapted from Shakespeare’s comedy of the same name, the story follows two couples with contrasting notions about love. The promo image below reveals a full cast list, including Nathan Fillion with whom Whedon has previously worked on FIREFLY and silver-screen adaptation SERENITY.
The image was originally posted on website Muchadothemovie.com and a press release has since been made available:
Bellwether Pictures proudly announces the completion of principal photography on
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy
adapted and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel’s upcoming THE AVENGERS, “Dr.
Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”). Filmed in just 12 days entirely on location in exotic Santa
Monica, 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.
The film was produced by Whedon, line-produced by Nathan Kelly and M. Elizabeth
Hughes, and co-produced by Kai Cole and Danny Kaminsky. The super-impressive cast
is listed below. Full tech credits (for the extraordinary crew) will be up shortly. The film
should be completed by early spring and headed for the festival circuit, because it is
fancy.
There is currently no news on cinema or DVD release dates, but those who can’t wait for Whedon’s upcoming adaptation can pass the time with THN’s retrospective Shakespeare on Film feature here.
Source: ComingSoon.Net
