| Much Ado About Nothing | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joss Whedon |
| Screenplay by | Joss Whedon |
| Based on | Much Ado About Nothing byWilliam Shakespeare |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jay Hunter |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Joss Whedon |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 108 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Early Modern English |
| Box office | $5.3 million[2][3] |
Much Ado About Nothing is a 2012 Americanromantic comedy film written, produced, directed, edited and composed byJoss Whedon, based onWilliam Shakespeare'splay of the same name. The film starsAmy Acker,Alexis Denisof,Nathan Fillion,Clark Gregg,Reed Diamond,Fran Kranz,Sean Maher,Jillian Morgese,Spencer Treat Clark,Riki Lindhome,Ashley Johnson,Tom Lenk, andRomy Rosemont.
To create the film, director Whedon established the production studioBellwether Pictures. The film premiered at the 2012Toronto International Film Festival and had its North American theatrical release on June 21, 2013.
The plot of the film is largely unchanged from that ofShakespeare'soriginal play. Differences include the modern-day setting, switching Conrade's gender, eliminating several minor roles and consolidating others into Leonato's aide, and expanding Ursula's role by giving her a number of Margaret's scenes. In addition, the film adds background to the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick by showing, in an opening scene, a morning after they apparently slept together, and later, flashbacks that confirm this. Benedick is beardless in both, so this is presumably some time before the plot of the movie takes place.
Anthony Head was originally intended for the role of Leonato, but was unavailable.[4] Clark Gregg had worked with Whedon onThe Avengers at the time, and stepped in to play the part.[5] Most of the cast had worked with Whedon before: Acker and Denisof onAngel; Denisof, Fillion, Lenk and Lindhome onBuffy the Vampire Slayer; Fillion and Maher onFirefly; Acker, Denisof, Diamond, Kranz and Johnson onDollhouse; Gregg, Denisof, Rosemont, Johnson and Morgese inThe Avengers.[6][7][8]
Principal photography started mid-October 2011,[9] and took place atJoss Whedon's residence inSanta Monica, California.[10] On the choice of location, he toldStudio 360: "First of all, my wife built that house. And I knew from the moment I set foot in it that I would want to film something there. Because it's all in one place, that place informs the mood and the feeling and the look of the picture so much, and I was really already comfortable with that".[11] Whedon and his wife, Kai Cole, produced the film through theirstudioBellwether Pictures.[12][13] It was filmed entirely in ablack-and-white palette over a period of 12 days, in conjunction withcinematographer Jay Hunter.[14] Whedon shot it while on a contractual vacation from the post-production ofThe Avengers.[15] The cast and crew were informed to keep the project a secret until production was finished.[4] Theywrapped their last day of filming on October 23, 2011.[16]
Whedon explained his initial interest in the project, saying:
I fixated on this notion that our ideas of romantic love are created for us by the society around us, and then escape from that is grown-up love, is marriage, is mature love, to escape the ideals of love that we're supposed to follow.[4]
He elaborated on that sentiment, and said "It's a very cynically romantic text about love, and how we behave, and how we're expected to behave. It's a party, but there's something darker there as well". Inspired by the exposing nature offilm, Whedon decided to infuse a recurring motif ofsexuality, "...because it's a visual medium. You can say it or you can show it. ... There's an element to it, of debauchery, that was fun for a time but then it was just sort of dark".[17] Whedon's idea to adapt the play for the screen originated from having "Shakespeare readings" at his house with several of his friends, years prior.[18]
Whedon and hisdirector of photography Jay Hunter took advantage ofnatural lighting in order to make it feel "very found", noting: "Our lighting package rose in the east and set in the west".[19] Usingmirrors,glass andwindows to shoot through, he explains: "[It's] something I'd like to do all the time, but particularly in a movie that's all about lies, and manipulation and misunderstandings. The more you can warp the frame a little bit, the more it speaks towards what's going on".[19] The film was shot hand-held,digitally with multiple cameras, often with aRED Epic, and used aLensbabyComposer with Double Glass lens on aCanon 7D to differentiate certain scenes.[20]
Whedon composed the score for the film and recruitedDeborah Lurie to produce.[21] He also arranged music to two songs, written by Shakespeare for the play, "Sigh No More" and "Heavily", and performed byMaurissa Tancharoen andJed Whedon.[22][23] The soundtrack was released digitally on June 6, 2013.[21]
Much Ado About Nothing had itsworld premiere at the2012 Toronto International Film Festival.[24] The film'sNorth Americandistribution rights were acquired byLionsgate, in association withRoadside Attractions, for a joint theatrical release.[25] It was later reported that the film would have a limited theatrical release on June 7, 2013.[26][27] Kaleidoscope Film Distribution obtained worldwide sales andUK distribution rights.[28] European premieres have been held at the2013 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival,[29][30] the2013 Glasgow Film Festival,[31] the2013 Istanbul Film Festival,[32] the2013 Bradford International Film Festival,[33] the2013 Belfast Film Festival,[34] the2013 Filmfest München,[35] the 2013 Athens International Film Festival and the2013 Helsinki Film Festival.[36][37] The film premiered in the United States at the2013 South by Southwest Film Festival,[38] followed by the2013 Wisconsin Film Festival, the2013 San Francisco International Film Festival, the2013 Independent Film Festival of Boston and the2013 Seattle International Film Festival.[39][40][41][42][43] The limited release inNew York City,Los Angeles andSan Francisco was expanded on June 14, 2013.[44] On June 21, 2013, it released in 200-300 screens nationwide.[45]
Much Ado About Nothing was officially given aPG-13 rating by theMPAA for American cinemas.[46] It got a12A certificate in the United Kingdom from theBritish Board of Film Classification.[1]
Sharmill Films distributed the film toAustralian theaters.[47] It was shown at theNew Zealand International Film Festival in July 2013.[48] The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom.[49]
In limited release and playing in only five theaters in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, it grossed $71,000 on its first day.[50][51] At the end of its opening weekend, it had grossed $183,400.[52] The $15,027 it made at theLincoln Film Center Society Theater broke the venue's house record.[53] With the expansion into 18 additional theaters in the second week of its limited release, the film garnered an amount of $162,580.[54]
The first weekend of wide release in the U.S. grossed $762,350 from 206 theaters, which accumulated a total amount of $1,234,781 since release.[55] It earned $590,000 after the second week.[56] The fourth week held an overall aggregate of $263,700.[57] Domestic total gross amounted to $4,328,850.[2]
The film's opening weekend in the United Kingdom grossed $101,237 from having been screened at 64 locations.[58] The box office numbers for Australia's opening weekend amounted to $78,196.[59] The international box office contributed $971,794 to the film's final cumulative total.[3]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 87% of 176 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Lighthearted to a fault,Much Ado About Nothing's giddy energy and intimate charm make for an entertaining romantic comedy—and a Shakespearean adaptation that's hard to resist"[60]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[61]
Within the first 10 minutes ofJoss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing," I found myself smiling with excitement, while also holding my breath in nervous anxiety. Would the film be able to sustain its confident manic tone, maintain its humor and smarts, its depth of characterization and innovative use of text and landscape? Would the magic hold? The magic holds. It holds from beginning to end.
John DeFore ofThe Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review of the film, remarking: "...more than most adaptations, this is a film true to Shakespeare's practice of employing all means at hand to keep the crowd entertained".[63] Tom Clift of Moviedex complimented the director's use of subtle visual humor.[64]The Guardian scored the film four out of five stars, calling it "...the first great contemporary Shakespeare sinceBaz Luhrmann'sRomeo and Juliet".[65] Christopher Schobert ofIndieWire wrote: "The result is an utter joy, Whedon's most emotionally resonant and fully realized feature film to date. And I say that as one who is not a devoted member of the Whedon army".[66] Sheila O'Malley of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, noting that "Much Ado About Nothing is one of the best films of the year".[62]
BBC Radio 5 Live'sMark Kermode said of the film: "One of the things that it manages to do is, firstly, make all the dialogue and the language completely comprehensible". He proceeded to note that "it makes sense to its audience. I think that the comedy is funny, and I don't say that lightly. ... And finally, I think in terms of the way in which it deals with that gender politics issue is really well done. ... It's a very hard trick to pull off, and he did it in two weeks!"[67] Helen O'Hara ofEmpire believed that, while keeping a sense ofnoir to compensate theromance, it was "in balancing these competing elements and characters that this version really shines".[68]The Village Voice's Chris Packham said that the director "approaches the story with a tremendous amount of joy".[69]
Associated Press reviewer Jake Coyle wrote that "moviegoers will likely have few better options this summer for a good romantic comedy".[70]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times called it "the liveliest and most purely delightful movie I have seen so far this year", concluding to laud the film for its "sly, robust eroticism".[71] Andrew O'Hehir ofSalon wrote: "[It] possesses that Whedon-esque nerdy energy, fizzing with humor, eroticism, booze and more than a hint of danger".[72]Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times thought the film was "good-humored and unpretentious in equal measure", going on to praise its visual performance.[73]IGN gave it a 7.5 out of ten, noting that "everyone should see this movie".[74]
Joe Morgenstern ofThe Wall Street Journal gave high encomium toKranz's performance, expressing that the actor "portrays Claudio with affecting passion", and says of the film: "The joyous spirit of the play has been preserved in this modest, homegrown production".[75]Rolling Stone journalistPeter Travers wrote that the film was "an irresistible blend of mirth and malice".[76] Justin Chang ofVariety sensed that the black-and-white evoked a "timeless romanticism", which was additionally enhanced by the "lightly applied score".[77] Chris Nashawaty ofEntertainment Weekly—despite commending it for being "both daring and delightfully daffy"—admits, "The film isn't as fast and funny as it could be".[78]
 | This sectionis inlist format but may read better asprose. You can help byconverting this section, if appropriate.Editing help is available.(June 2019) |
| Year | Award | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 13th Belfast Film Festival Audience Award | Joss Whedon | Won | |
| 2013 | IFF Boston Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature | Much Ado About Nothing | Won |
Much Ado About Nothing was released onBlu-ray Disc andDVD on October 8, 2013.[84][85] The film's US Blu-ray Disc features1080p video,DTS-HD Master Audio5.1 surround, anUltraViolet digital copy, a music video for "Sigh No More" (one of the songs from the soundtrack), twoaudio commentaries and twofeaturettes.[86]Much Ado About Nothing was awarded theGuinness World Record for having the most people record a Blu-ray or DVD commentary – 16.[87]
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