Joss Whedon - Much Ado About Nothing?

Joss Whedon

One of my favourite things to do each week is catch up with Box Office Mojo and read their previews of what is to come and their analysis of what has been. What always strikes me is their starkly clinical analysis of a movie's chances at the box office and how often they are either exactly right or were found to be a little optimistic. It seems just from reviewing a synopsis they can tell you how much a film will make in best case scenario. One of the repeating themes is that a well known actor is not necessarily going to have a hit in any old movie. Or put another way, just having a name on the credits does not guarantee people will watch it.

Also on Box Office Mojo you can find a list of the all time most successful movies. Being a huge Joss Whedon, Firefly and Serenity fan, it gives me some satisfaction to see his Marvel's The Avengers sits at #3 in the worldwide rankings. You might think that any old director might have been able to take the Avengers to that spot but you'd be wrong, as the chronicles of Box Office Mojo have painstakingly and repeatedly detailed. Joss Whedon wrote and directed Avengers and was chosen specifically because he is very adept at juggling a big  cast and blending humour with riveting story.

I then got to thinking. Having been largely responsible for creating the third highest grossing movie of all time, and considering the other two - written and directed by James Cameron, had been released multiple times over a number of years in many different formats. I got to wondering whether movie studios would be willing to distribute just about anything Joss Whedon chose to do.

Literally ten minutes later while sipping my coffee this popped up on the screen.

You can read some interesting background on how Much Ado About Nothing came to be at the Huffington Post.