George Clooney Lines Up His Next Directional Effort With ‘The Monuments Men’

Following the success of directing, co-writing, co-producing and co-starring in ‘The Ides of March,’ George Clooney has lined up the World War II story ’The Monuments Men,’ an adaptation of the 2009 book by Robert Edsel, as his next project. George Clooney will produce the film with his frequent writing and producing partner Grant Helsov for Sony Pictures. Talking about the project to 24 Frames, Clooney had the following to say: “It’s an amazing story, and Grant and I are already thinking about how great the casting can be. “And there’s also a great love story.” The synopsis for Robert M. Edsel’s book “The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History” is below. Expect more details soon.

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: “degenerate” works he despised. In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture. Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world’s great art from the Nazis.