Much Ado About Film by Kenneth Branagh

The Scene: Monday night’s film premiere of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” This is British auteur Kenneth Branagh’s second time taking the Bard to the big screen. After a packed screening in Westwood, about 750 guests scooted over to the L.A. County Museum of Art, where they dined on an Italian-themed buffet in the chilly courtyard. Tickets were $75 a person and benefited the museum’s film department. About $40,000 to $50,000 was taken in; the Samuel Goldwyn Co. underwrote the event.

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The Buzz: There was much ado about something. The crowd was seriously hyped for this lively production of one of Shakespeare’s more romantic and fanciful plays and applauded loudly at the end. Lots of talk about what an extraordinary talent “Ken” is, as well as what a cute accent he has.

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Who Was There: From the cast: Branagh, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, co-producer Stephen Evans and composer Patrick Doyle. Of the cast but in absentia: Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington. General celebrity category: Jodie Foster, Charlton Heston, Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, Phil Joanou, Alan Rickman, Marilu Henner, Bruce Davison and Lisa Pelikan.

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Dress Mode: An alarming number of bell-bottoms, plus the usual brigade of suits. When coming to a screening straight from the job, the more rumpled, the better. Hair that’s been yanked into corkscrew curls, wrinkled suits, loosened ties and a general haggard appearance let people know you put in a full day’s work.

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The Food: Somerset’s buffet included thin-crust pizzas, beef stew, pastas, plus fresh fruit and cheese and, for people who let others watch their weight for them, a dessert bar.

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Quoted: Branagh, who declared himself “a nerve-racked man from hell” early on, admitted at the party that he stayed in the audience only for the first five minutes of the film. “I couldn’t see the whole thing,” he said. “I have a nervous drink and find myself unable to eat.”

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Also Quoted: “It seems that most people I’ve run into have had a terrifying high school experience with Shakespeare,” said Keanu Reeves. “And they expect to almost revisit some kind of psychological flashback.”

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Overheard: “Are there going to be subtitles?” asked one man. It wasn’t known if he was carrying Cliffs Notes.

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So much for investing all that money in acting classes: Robert Sean Leonard, who that day had received a Tony nomination for “Candida,” was being congratulated by a middle-aged man:

“You look about 18 on screen! How old are you?”

“Ah, I’m 24.”

“So, are you an American actor?”

“Yes, yes, I am.”

The man concluded by betting Leonard that there were probably a bunch of girls waiting to “jump his bones.”