AVENGERS Aschmengers!! Joss Whedon Just Completed A New Motion Picture Utilizing The Stars Of BUFFY, ANGEL, FIREFLY, DOLLHOUSE and DR. HORRIBLE!!

That's for sure.

I am very excited!

and that was by kenneth branagh. hard to top and shakespeare film by branagh really.

Brian Yoda Cox would be ashamed.

How did I not know this was out? Been out for a couple months. Just made my night.

but it is.

played by a married couple.

So Joss Whedon is re-imagining a 70's sitcom in black & white with D-list actors. Let's all grab our unwashed nerd-peckers and start jerking one out! Too bad John Ritter didn't live long enough to see a Quentin Tarantino career revival. Oh and I heard that Summer Glau only washes "down there" every other Tuesday, so proceed with caution...

No way, man. I don't want Whedon anywhere near my beloved Lucy Hale.

You know those crazy Yanks would need a laughter track to `get` Shakespeare.

I shall watch this

great name

Funny how?

I believe it's called LICKALOTTAPUSS.

Though he never delivered with Dollhouse. Otherwise, I've liked and sometimes loved his other work. I hope they don't do bad English accents. Except for those who are English, that is.

THAT SHIT IS DELICIOUS

Why?

Now if you want to see a good cast do Shakespeare check out Branagh's 1993 version of Much Ado. Amongst others, it features a fantastic performance from Denzel Washington as Don Pedro. It's only significant mistake is in casting Keanu as the villain, a vain attempt to lure Point Break fans to Shakespeare I can only presume.

I'm still heartbroken over Fred's tragic death so maybe i'll check this out.

I fucking hate that show, but god DAMN those girls...Troian Bellisario is my preference, though.

Forsooth, I didst not hit thee!! Why art thou tearing me asunder, Lisa!!

Just kidding, I'll totally watch this.

... not to the equally lovely and beautiful Amy Acker. Just to clear that up.

as it should be. Can't wait to see this. and i love how some of the talkbackers don't seem to understand Joss's humor at all - like the glorious black and white quote. too funny.

I honestly don't think Joss's wife or family is obsessed about him as much as Herc. If Joss is ever killed by a stalker Herc should be the first person the police interview

I don't get the attraction. The dialogue is like listening to Yoda's long-winded, more obtuse cousin. The only stars to really do Shakespeare justice were Terrence and Phillip. "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest, buddih!...."

I recognize two names and of those two neither are really impressive. Although, Clark Gregg did do a good job directing Choke. Fillion is too much of a fanboy fuck fantasy for me to really get behind. You guys can get behind him if you like. On a sidenote: what the fuck has happened to this site? The most commented talkback is some Star Wars shit with 155 posts...total. 155 posts? Wow. I remember coming here back in the day and 99% of the "articles" always had upwards of 1000 posts. Always. It didn't even matter what the "article" was about. Now? A video of the Avengers panel has 40 total posts. Ho-lee shit. An Avengers story can't even break 50 posts? I'd even bet 34 of the 40 posts are about Brian Cox. (BTW, I don't care if you guys are "over it", most of that Brian Cox stuff is funny as shit if only because it's been run into the ground soooo hard) 40 posts on an Avengers story. Wow. And I don't even care about the Avengers. Five years ago there would have been 4000 posts. The only reason anyone comes here anymore are for the talkbacks and now even those are dying. What a shame. Since Harry and staff don't understand what the word "update" means, they need to rollback the talkbacks to the way they used to be. When, if I refreshed to read new comments, I didn't have to "expand all" every time. Fuckin' morons. If your goal was to shoot AICN in the foot then you have succeded admirably.

I was in my 20s, and it was a revelation. One of the main purposes of high school, it sometimes seems, is to make Shakespeare as boring and unappealing to students as humanly possible. They had certainly succeeded with me, breaking down Shakespeare into endless vocabulary lists and parsing of every sentence. It had certainly worked in my case; Shakespeare bored the crap out of me. Then I saw "Much Ado," and there was one point where Don Pedro says to Beatrice, in regards to her insulting Benedick, "You put him down, my lady, you put him down." And she shoots back, "As I would not have him do me, my lord, lest I be the mother of fools." And I thought, "Whoa! What a filthy joke, especially considering the time it was written." It made clear to me that Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not analyzed to death. And, as was noted up thread, Wesley and Fred together again. I have no idea if this will ever play anywhere in my neck of the woods, but I'd definitely be there. Hell, if it does well, maybe next up will be "Taming of the Shrew" with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kate, Michelle Trachtenberg as Bianca, Anthony Head as their father, David Boreanaz (or James Marsters) as Petruchio, and the three uber-Geeks as Bianca's suitors. PAD

...is from the "Angel" episode "Waiting in the Wings, " which also featured Summer Glau. PAD

Angel nerd.

I'm pretty geekin' happy about this. I'm there, theater or blu-ray. Totally nerdgasming about the prospect of seeing Fred and Wes on screen together again. Be nice if AS Head was in there, too. But hey, maybe next time.

First Shakespeare play and movie was Taming of the Shrew. Love to see someone tackle that one again.

Angel MIGHT have ended up being better than Buffy if it hadn't had that worst "FU FANS!" ending in the history of television. As it is, strong episodes against strong episodes, Buffy still takes it (for me).

Anyone who knocks Denisof and Acker's acting abilities wouldn't know good acting if it bit them in the ass. Or else they're just ignorant fucktards who just unthinkingly bash anything Whedon related. Denisof was incredible as Wesley, making the character's six year journey from uptight ponce to insecure and awkward would-be hero to ultimate badass completely believable. Just his work in the episode mentioned by Mr. David is incredibly compelling. And Amy Acker? forget about it. Her work in Dollhouse was amazing, even eclipsing her work on Angel. This is a fantastic fucking cast. A dream come true for any fan of Shakespeare comedies. And especially dreamy for any Whedon fan. But with a cast this good, that's just gravy.

first of all, who says FU? Secondly, the show was canceled. The only people who said 'FU' to the fans were the idiots at the WB who canceled a show that got way better ratings than the CW's top 'hit' show these days. The folks at Mutant Enemy just ended the show the best way they could, with the gang fighting on.

I've never heard that title before, what's it mean?

with a bunch of people I'd like to see in a movie doing Shakespeare? Sure sounds good to me!

The "line producer" is the guy on a production's front line, charged with the day-to-day oversight of scheduling and budget.

GI Jane

Mal, Fred, Wes, Topher, Andrew, Mr Dominic, Simon Tam and Agent Coulson all doing Shakespeare. I will watch this. Unfortunately I've got more chance of getting a national release in the UK than this has. Blu-ray it is then.

they got cancelled and so came up with this awesome finale set around the theme "things never end the way you expect/hope". From Angel signing away the Shansu prophecy, to Wes' magic being redundant, to Lindsay not getting a final battle with Angel, its a perfect theme to end the series on and the final shot - "lets go to work" - just keeps up the through-line of the whole series, fight the good fight regardless of the odds... Its a great finale and about as far from "FU to the fans" as possible.

if he weren't fake and all.

Yul Brynner in The Magnificent Seven

Working with giant egos on the avengers set, he wanted to go back to his thankful TV actors, who treat him like the the alpha male. I can relate. I dig how he tries to circumvent the studio system and traditional distribution. Whedon is always reliable entertainment. Not the second coming, but not a "hack" either. I don't get why he is such a polarizing figure.

Played Conrade. My best friend played Borachio and it was a blast. Some of the most fun I ever had with a play.

This project actually makes a lot of sense to me, now that I think about it. Whedon uses modern vernacular speech styles and neologisms in banter-laden dialogue in much the same way Shakespeare did. I would not argue that he does it with the same degree of genius as Shakespeare, but he does it as well as anybody writing today, and if it's a style you like (which I do) he's a consistent source of entertaining programs. Era aside, compare the tempo, the rhythms and wordplay in a typical "Willow" scene from Buffy with any of the "exasperated heroine" moments from Shakespeare. Compare Mal and Inara from Firefly to Beatrice and Benedick or Kate and Petruchio, not just the relationship between a man and a woman who each know the other is their equal (and begrudgingly know they are as likely to be wrong as right any time they disagree with one another,) but also the way they verbally jab at each other as a substitute for intimacy. Even Whedon's process, rapidly pulling together a production with what has become a stable company of actors who know each other's style and can play off one another because of that familiarity, rather than having to integrate new (outsized) personalities for each show, is arguably a very Elizabethan method. I suspect it leads to the oft-cited impression that the people in his productions enjoy what they're doing, and explains why they're willing to drop out of the world for a few weeks for the opportunity to do something like this, or Dr. Horrible with him. I can see this being a very entertaining "folly" in itself, and I'm sure was a needed opportunity for Whedon to re-energize himself for the long post-production haul to opening night of The Avengers next summer. Hope it comes to my area. Otherwise, I'll have to wait for it on disk.

The play in question is "Much Ado about Nothing." 'As you Like it" is a different comedy, that I am unsure has ever been committed to film. Even so, Branagh's "Much Ado" was an absolute HOOT. I even enjoyed his Loves Labours Lost. And for anyone on this board that has not seen KB's Henry the Vth... Shame on you. Make that movie the next thing you watch.

Actually, I'm going to step out a bit further on the KB branch. First I ever saw Branagh was as a college sophomore (his HenryV movie). I was blown away. I have since enjoyed most every project the man worked, as actor or director. Two notable exceptions: The Gingerbread Lawyer, which was based on a Grisham novel was mediocre; Celebrity, starring KB, directed by Woody Allen, was poor. Don't let those things dissuade you. Branagh gets a lifetime pass from me for any failures, when weighed against the 23 years of entertainment since I first discovered him. And that 23 includes a brilliant HAMLET. For you students out there that can't get a grip on Hamlet... keep in mind KB's version is the only filmed version to include ALL THE DIALOGUE, and all the minor supporting characters that professors love to use to trip you up.

Branaugh's THOR ... was pretty good too.

Spoilers !!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.datafilehost.com/download-a4632b29.html

Wes' and Fred's last scenes together were heartbreaking.

Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and As You Like It (2006)

He may not have directed it, but it's certainly not worthy of a pass. And need I even mention Sleuth? He's had his fair share of craptastic films, don't give him the pass just yet. Plus, he put Keanu in his Much Ado. One of many weak spots. Overall, it was good, just not when you had to sit through Keanu, and Michael Keaton, and Robert S. Leonard.

And it's a fine movie.

I think you would like it very much.

@ kdoc - Wild Wild West.... wow. I had forgotten that 'performance'. I put that one in the same category as Jeremy Irons in the DnD movie... wow. Thanks for deleting the wall I had built in my mind. As for Keanu in Muchado... yep, it was pretty bad. I just picture 'Ted' saying 'Oh, foul Claudio...'. and it makes it tolerable. And I appreciated Keaton's performance in that. Probably from a more academic perspective, as the low-comedy trio is nearly ubiquitous in Shakespeares plays, and are almost always stripped out in film productions. Understandably so, given the desired tightness of the medium, but it was refreshing to see that class of character given some screentime. @big jim I was completely unaware of KB's "As you Like it". Now I have something to put on my viewing list. Thanks to all who mentioned. @asimovlives I saw season2 of Wallander and am working my way through Season1 now. I like it much, but I'm having trouble putting my finger on why I like it. I like the slowness, slower even than Inspector Lewis or Morse. If that makes any sense.

Was epic. "I'm gonna slay me a dragon" or whatever had me cheering. If you're pissed they didn't tell you more, go read the damn comics. They continue the story. I've never bothered, as I thought that was a perfect way to end it.

Wes dying in Not-Fred's arms may be one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen. This looks good.

... and one I've seen and enjoyed many times since. I'll pretty much give any production of it a look.

largely because Whedon said he wasn't going to end it on a cliffhanger. But that's basically what that ending was. I get that the ending is putting forth the notion of the "never-ending fight". However, by revisited those characters to tell us "what happened next" the series ending is reduced to a cliffhanger. Also, the rumours at the time of tv spinoff movies suggested more to come. So even when I originally watched it I got the feeling of being left shortchanged. Still a great show, and I think the final season is arguably the series' best, but the ending left me feeling a bit cheated.

love the line about the dragon.

I hope this comes to the Detroit area-- I will *so* be there. I think this is a great mashup, as maxwello said, given how well the actors played against each other during their work in TV (Amy and Alexis as Fred and Wes in Angel, Nathan and Sean in Firefly/Serenity) and Whedon's treatment of language and dialogue complimenting Shakespeare (which is always better performed than read.) Finally, another film I can look forward to (besides 2012's John Dies at the End and whenever-the-heck Tucker and Dale makes it to DVD/blu-ray.) And yes, I loved Buffy, and Angel, and Firefly, and Dr. Horrible. And I'm pretty sure I'll love this too. I can't wait to see this!

Silliness. Yes, I know the show was cancelled. And no the ending was NOT epic. In case nobody remembers, the show was cancelled so late, with so little warning, that they weren't able to end it any other way. That was not the planned ending, or the ending they would have written if given enough time. It was a cliff-hanger, not an ending at all.

That WAS a great hour of television. Like others, I simply felt cheated by the fact that I'd put that much time into the show to be left with an unfinished cliff-hanger at the end. It was weak sauce then and its weak sauce now. For me, knowing what's coming actually makes re-watching those last few episodes much less enjoyable.

Everyone either dead or fighting. As it should have been.

I was disappointed at the time, but in retrospect, it's the perfect ending to the show. I'm not sure how they would have done season 6 with LA in "hell" and all that. You can ignore the comics, but know that Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn continue the fight and either die heroically or somehow survive to fight another day. It actually asks the viewer to fill in the blanks and not have everything handed to them. Joss claims it's not a cliffhanger. So I tend to believe him.

...until very close to the time that episode was filmed. So there is no way that's how they intended to end the series. For me, its not enough. There's no closure. No finality. No completion to the arc the characters had been on. I have no problem with an open ending if it makes sense for the story. For me, the end of Angel makes no damn sense. Things are really just taking off in new and exciting ways and then....

.... nothing. Weak sauce. I still love the show, just get really annoyed whenever I think about the end of season five.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why Whedon can't concentrate on making THIS a priority and shove EVERYTHING aside.

... then fuck the circumstances! lol

I was absolutely certain Steve Holt would be cast as Beatrice. Beatrice!

its all explained on the DVD commentary. It was NEVER intended as a cliffhanger. They got the cancellation notice about 3 episodes from the end, so with such a short amount of time I think they did a pretty good job. The stakes are raised, characters die, there's a big final battle. The final shot was supposed to signify the ending, not a set up for season 6. I agree with oisin5199 and I like the fact its up to the audience to decide how it ultimately ends. I prefer to think they all died fighting a never-ending horde from hell. Which is pretty badass. In terms of series finales, its definitely one of the better ones.

There was no closure? Weak sauce? Hardly. Guess what, in life there's no closure. There's only closure when you die (sometimes not even then, depending on who you believe). Not when characters you watch die, but when you, the viewer, dies. Closure is a nice safe thing that Western storytellers invented to comfort us. The truth is, whether planned or not, the Angel finale is probably more realistic, demonstrating that shit happens and you just keep going. There's no resolution or closure. You just keep fighting. Or in the case of the Serenity, you keep flying.

if you read the press articles about this, Whedon completed principle photography on the Avengers, and was set to go on a vacation with his wife. She suggested that they stay home and work on this movie, which was a labor of love, resulting from the many Shakespeare readings they would play around with on the weekends at his house. So no time was taken away from the Avengers. He'll be getting back to post-production soon enough.

Anyone who's seen the series once should recognize it. He's wearing a tux; she's in an evening dress. It's the only episode they ever wore anything formal. Plus they're holding a program book. It has to be the one where they went to the ballet, and Summer Glau is in it. Pretty straightforward, really. PAD

I don't, and it goes against many of the basic principles of good writing. And please don't try and get philosophical about it. Its not life, its a tv show. A tv show with a lousy ending because the network didn't believe in it. Hindsight may lead you to believe otherwise. But at the time, VERY few people were happy about it. Not the fans NOR the people involved with the show.

...it was FOURTEEN episodes. Not NEARLY as big a deal as putting YEARS into Angel as a show and character (via his namesake series and Buffy).

the ship, not the movie. Or the tv show, which was called Firefly.

the Brannaugh version is perfect with the exception of Keaneu... And even he is forgivable because the rest of the cast is so amazing. but really Joss... Couldn't do anything else? What about "as you like it" or "alls well that ends well" why go to all the trouble to redo much ado? meh.

So weird when people make posts that just admit to straight up rampant stupidity and ignorance.