Joss Whedon on “Much Ado About Nothing”: “It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever done”
The director and his cast shared anecdotes about the new production at SXSW over the weekend
Topics: Pajiba, Much Ado About Nothing, 2013SXSW, Joss Whedon, Clark Gregg, Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion
Directly after the premiere of Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing at SXSW this weekend, Whedon and 14 members of the cast took to the stage with moderator Adam Vary of Buzzfeed to discuss the film and answer questions from the audience. Though the entire cast (including Whedon regulars Fran Kanz, Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker and Tom Lenk) was charming as hell, panel pros Whedon and Nathan Fillion (who plays Dogberry in the film) were next level charismatic. They fielded a volley of “Firefly” questions and uber fan meltdowns with an equal mix of dry wit and sincere apprectiation for their rabid fanbase. Here are our spoiler-free highlights.
As Dan mentioned in his review , Whedon’s wry, modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy of sex, jealousy and skirmishes of wit was shot over two weeks and at his own home. The sprawling house, designed by Whedon’s wife Kai Cole, was the real inspiration for the film. Whedon remarked, “I regret that I didn’t have a steady cam to capture the flow of the rooms. I really feel like I let the house down.”
One of the more delightful performances in the film belongs to Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson of Avengers fame) who plays Don Leonato, father of the bride and host of Much Ado’s sprawling party. Gregg confessed that his loose-limbed, booze-soaked performance was likely so refreshingly energetic because he was cast last minute and only had two days on set. (“I peed a little,” Fillion said about being cast. “I peed a lot,” Gregg added.) And when asked why there is so much alcohol in the film (and there is, I wouldn’t recommend playing the “drink when they drink” game when watching this version of Much Ado), Joss explained that a near-constant state of inebriation was the best explanation for the amount of “deception and idiocy” that rages through Shakespeare’s plot.



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