Joss Whedon Announces Already-Finished Project: 'Much Ado About Nothing'

How does Joss Whedon put together a new project adapting a Shakespeare classic while simultaneously directing the big-budget mega-movie "The Avengers" for Marvel?

Simple: shoot it 12 days.

That's what Whedon did for "Much Ado About Nothing," his newest project that was announced just yesterday. Fans were astonished to hear that principal photography had already finished on the film... after all, we all have the Internet and these things are pretty difficult to keep quiet. Plus, Whedon is busy directing "The Avengers," so his free time must be limited.

But when it was revealed today that the entire project took only 12 days to shoot, it all made a bit more sense. Whedon arranged the project, which is a modern adaptation of the Shakespeare play of the same name, with writers and actors close to him, many or all of whom he has worked with before. Sean Maher and Nathan Fillion of "Firefly" and Amy Acker of "Dollhouse" star, among others.

The press release for the film, which can be found on the film's website, calls it the "first feature from Bellwether, a micro-studio created by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole for the production of small, independent narratives for all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a somewhat older story."

After the success of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," which was produced in a similar "DIY" manner during the writer's strike a few years back, Whedon seems to have discovered a new method for filmmakers to create small-scale but hopefully profitable productions using the Internet as a primary platform. "Much Ado About Nothing," however, will hit festival circuits first after post-production is completed in the coming months.

If this is any indication of what's to come, we can expect many more of these small projects from Whedon and Bellwether, including (hopefully) a sequel to "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."