FILM · 1993 · UK
Much Ado About Nothing
16 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (16)
- #001
Much Ado About Nothing is Kate Beckinsale's (Hero) first theatrical film, shot during a summer holiday after she had studied Russian and French at New College, Oxford, in England. It also includes her first on-screen kiss.
- #002
Like Much Ado About Nothing (1967), this film stars a real-life married couple in its lead roles. The earlier television film featured Robert Stephens and Dame Maggie Smith, while this film featured Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Emma Thompson. Both couples later divorced.
- #003
In an interview on British radio, Keanu Reeves claimed that Brian Blessed befriended him during the shoot and taught him how to meditate.
- #004
During the Oscar season in early 1994, Samuel Goldwyn spent 10 million dollars campaigning for this film in an attempt to secure an Oscar nomination. They sent large packages to all Academy members and screened the film in the hope of securing a place in the final vote. Although the film was widely acclaimed and a box-office hit (unusual for William Shakespeare), it received no Oscar nominations. Ultimately, the effort amounted to much ado about nothing.
- #005
Ben Elton claimed during the promotion (whether seriously or not) that the reason Michael Keaton is seen so often over his shoulder is that it allowed him to get the maximum number of shots.
- #006
The film's composer, Patrick Doyle, takes on the role of Balthasar. Doyle has composed the music for 14 Branagh films.
- #007
Phyllida Law (Ursula) is the mother of Emma Thompson (Beatrice). At the time the film was shot, she was Kenneth Branagh's (Benedick) mother-in-law.
- #008
The film is set in Messina, Sicily, but was shot in Chianti, Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
- #009
Most of the songs were not re-recorded.
- #010
Dame Judi Dench was offered the role of Ursula.
- #011
This film features several members of Branagh's 'stock'/'repertory' company who also appeared in Henry V (1989) and/or Peter's Friends (1992): Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Emma Thompson, Dame Imelda Staunton, Phyllida Law, Alex Lowe and Patrick Doyle.
- #012
In Shakespeare's time, 'no thing' was slang for the female genitalia. So this romantic comedy made much ado about that, a typical Shakespeare play that the audience would understand.
- #013
Johann Christoph Schmidt (John Christopher Smith Jr.) (1712-1795), who was born in Germany and raised in England, set William Shakespeare's poem 'Sigh No More, Ladies' to music.
- #014
The cast includes three Oscar winners: Sir Kenneth Branagh, Dame Emma Thompson and Denzel Washington, and three Oscar nominees: Michael Keaton, Dame Imelda Staunton and Patrick Doyle.
- #015
It was included on the American Film Institute's 2005 list of 250 films nominated for AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.
- #016
Sir Kenneth Branagh, Dame Emma Thompson and Dame Imelda Staunton all appeared in the Harry Potter film series.
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