Whedon does Shakespeare. We're in.

To adapt Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, director Joss Whedon (The Avengers) didn’t travel far — in fact, he barely got out of bed. His modern-day version of the classic romantic comedy was shot in the Los Angeles home Whedon shares with his wife, producer Kai Cole, and their two kids. ”I knew the play is very contained and the house would be the perfect location,” says Whedon, who kept the shoot to a brisk 12 days. Plus, he knows his abode is awesome. ”I’m enormously proud of that house. Kai built it. It’s the most beautiful house I know. My biggest regret is I didn’t do a Steadicam to really show how the house flowed, and there are rooms I didn’t use. I was like, ‘How could I not let the study be in the movie?! It’s so beautiful. The ceilings are so good!”’ And like any proud homeowner, Whedon wasn’t about to let his house turn into a party pad — even though the movie calls for plenty of corks to be popped by its hard-drinking characters. Jokes Whedon, ”[Their] wine was fake. But usually around 5 o’clock the director might have some around that was less fake.”