A man in a pool donning a snorkel and grasping a martini doesn’t exactly shout Shakespeare.
Yet that image is becoming ever more closely associated with William Shakespeare by Bardolaters and Browncoats who are eagerly anticipating the June release of Much Ado About Nothing as interpreted by a modern bard, Joss Whedon. The image of a party-ready and dive-ready Fran Kranz (Dollhouse, Cabin in the Woods) was originally seen on a mysterious website that first hinted at the existence of the production, and now it’s on the film’s newest poster.
Shakespeare’s comedy about the “merry war” and reluctant romance between his wittiest couple, Benedick and Beatrice, made its way into Whedon’s home about a decade ago, at one of the Firefly and Avengers maestro’s famed play readings among friends. There, Amy Acker (Angel, Cabin in the Woods) and Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse) took on the roles of Beatrice and Benedick, the same parts they play in the film, which Whedon shot over 12 days at his Santa Monica, Calif. home during what was supposed to be his post-Avengers vacation. The stealth production for Much Ado rallied together many actors familiar to fans of the Whedonverse, including Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Clark Gregg (The Avengers), and Tom Lenk (Buffy, Cabin in the Woods).
Here EW exclusively debuts the new poster for Much Ado About Nothing, which features Kranz as Claudio — one half of the play’s other central couple — taken from Whedon’s interpretation of a key scene featuring Claudio and the villainous Don John (Firefly’s Sean Maher). It’s a poster that evokes more of Much Ado’s comedy, while the international poster was more about the romance, with Benedick and Beatrice locked in each other’s gaze. Underneath the title is the first tagline for the film: “Shakespeare knew how to throw a party.” READ FULL STORY »
