The Wonderfully Weird Bus Tour For Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing”

The cast of the Shakespeare adaptation piled into a tour bus to travel from L.A. to the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Via: @MuchAdoFilm

On the afternoon of Thursday, March 7, Joss Whedon and much of the cast of his black-and-white feature film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing packed into a tour bus for the roughly 24 hour trip from Los Angeles to the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The crazy, kooky bus ride all came together after a few of the lesser-known castmates began trying to figure out how they were going to attend the film’s U.S. premiere on Sat., March 9 at SXSW (Full disclosure: I’ll be moderating a panel discussion with Whedon and his actors after the premiere). Once distributors Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate got on board with the notion of a bus tour, things snowballed. They called it “Bus Ado About Nothing.”

With all that time cooped up in a tight space, life got a bit weird en route to Austin. Thanks to Twitter, Instagram, and Vine, the journey has been thoroughly documented for our enjoyment. (Note: When this was first posted, the passengers — including Whedon and actors Tom Lenk, Fran Kranz, Spencer Treat Clark, Jillian Morgese, Ashley Johnson, Nick Kocher, and Brian McElhaney — were still on the road. But it has since been UPDATED with their complete journey.)

It began with Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated Twitter debut.

MuchAdoFilm @MuchAdoFilm

Hey it's Joss. I'm tweeting. I'm a member of the twitterati. I hath tweeth'd. It's on. -Joss

6:48 PM - 7 Mar 13

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On the bus, things were calm at first. Even dignified.

Actors Tom Lenk and Spencer Treat Clark. Source: @frankranz

From bottom left, actors Emma Bates, Jillian Morgese, Brian McElhaney, Fran Kranz, Nick Kocher, Tom Lenk, Joshua Zar, Spencer Treat Clark, and Ashley Johnson. Source: @TheVulcanSalute

Though there were portents of doom.

Fran Kranz @frankranz

The start of a horror film. pic.twitter.com/kTVvGc3E8X

12:01 AM - 8 Mar 13

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And things weren’t always dignified.

McElhaney, Kranz, and Kocher Source: @SpencerTClark

Quickly, people began to get restless.

This #MuchAdosxsw bus ride is getting boring. @MuchAdoFilm http://t.co/0jtF9aSR8q

— Ashley Johnson (@TheVulcanSalute)

Meet the incredibly vocally trained cast of 'Bus Ado About Nothing'! #muchadosxsw http://t.co/BporjUL94k

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

MuchAdoFilm @MuchAdoFilm

Joss here. NO WAY this trip turns into a French farce. @JillianMorgese@TheVulcanSalute@BJMcElhaney@SpencerTClark pic.twitter.com/KwEYUqYIxX

1:25 AM - 8 Mar 13

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Two hours in, some began to turn to drink.

Kranz, Morgese, and co-producer and editor Danny Kaminsky Source: instagram.com

Others began to experiment with social media.

I'm learning how to use Vine. Not very good yet. http://t.co/V7CJoCAYk9

— Brian McElhaney (@BJMcElhaney)

#dancepants http://t.co/piP1oGbYrg

— Tom Lenk (@tomlenk)

For everyone wanting more BriTANicK sketches, get ready for a slew of terrible 6 second ones. #muchadosxsw http://t.co/ecNtwe4zph

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

Whedon, meanwhile, went about proving his presence on Twitter, and also challenging the grammar status quo.

MuchAdoFilm @MuchAdoFilm

Some questions as to the veracity of my tweety identity. PROOF, Doubting Thomi! (Pllural of thomas. Work with me.) pic.twitter.com/2WqNkogmQS

2:09 AM - 8 Mar 13

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At one point, some lucky passer-by received either one of geekdom’s currently most coveted prizes, or a bunch of bare asses.

Nick Kocher @NickKocher

Find our bus on the highway and you'll win either a) All of us flashing you or b) Joss casting you as Ant Man in Avengers 2. #muchadosxsw

3:20 AM - 8 Mar 13

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As the evening stretched into the wee hours, things began to get a bit… magical…

The new 6-second BriTANicK sketch! "Magic Trick"! #busado #Muchadosxsw http://t.co/oCYKjjB1w4

— Brian McElhaney (@BJMcElhaney)

Magic Trick 2. #busado #muchadosxsw http://t.co/8vuxnMD8fg

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

The epic conclusion to the Magic Trick Triology. #muchadosxsw http://t.co/sL5qnUpV81

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

Maybe “magical” isn’t the best word. But you get the idea.

Source: @JillianMorgese

But wait, there’s more!

In the morning, they had pancakes!

MuchAdoFilm @MuchAdoFilm

Fort Stockton. We survived the night, but two of us switched bodies and Nick became something sad. pic.twitter.com/4IRvreNsF1

7:16 PM - 8 Mar 13

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Things got real.

Spencer Treat Clark @SpencerTClark

@NickKocher getting real at the international house of pancakes. @muchadofilm approves. #busado #muchadosxsw pic.twitter.com/KI7Yh4ZPvt

10:56 PM - 8 Mar 13

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And love was in the air.

A short film I wrote entitled "IHOP love." #muchadosxsw #ihop #cinema http://t.co/5NETzJlXCP

— Tom Lenk (@tomlenk)

There was a dance party.

Brief dance party. #muchadosxsw @muchadofilm http://t.co/9ZUlK9rf4v

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

And Fran Kranz was admired by Tom Lenk.

Fran is admired. #muchadosxsw @muchadofilm http://t.co/ys8f7Rjqnf

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

But when they started to get cabin fever…

Cabin fever. This may turn into a murder bus. http://t.co/FL8SY31O2y

— Ashley Johnson (@TheVulcanSalute)

…things did indeed turn dark.

Fran gets an idea. #muchadosxsw @muchadofilm http://t.co/Lz8vYDLKpx

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

Nick’s attempt to embrace a month-old meme backfired…

Nick tries to be topical. #muchadosxsw @muchadofilm http://t.co/5DMxPOrCCa

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)

…until it didn’t.

"SHIT! We should have called it the 'Harlem Shake-speare'!" - Joss #muchadosxsw @MuchAdoFilm http://t.co/Acgpp6BAb3

— Nick Kocher (@NickKocher)