George Clooney’s historial heist film The Monuments Men has amassed an impressive cast, as Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett will join Daniel Craig, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville in the film.
Back in January we reported Clooney was set to write, direct, and star in the film, as it now appears he has surrounded himself with immense talent. Dujardin and Blanchette were previously in talks for the film, although they have now been confirmed.
Deadline reported the news, saying of the plot, “the drama, which was scripted by Clooney and partner Grant Heslov, confronts the final chapter of Germany’s rule, which came down to the absolute destruction of everything that makes a culture keep its standing, including the lives that are lost and the sacrifices that are made. All of this is in danger of being lost forever as Hitler and the Nazis try to cover the tracks of a murderous regime. A crew of art historians and museum curators unite to recover renown works of art that were stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them.
The Monuments Men, which will begin production in Europe this March, is said to have a production start date of March 1, 2013. What’s more is that Alexandre Desplat has already agreed to score the film, with the Argo crew on board, a film Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov produced for Ben Affleck.
The film is a collaboration between 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures, as the film has previously been described by Clooney as a “big budget,” saying of the change of pace, “I’m not opposed to doing a commercial film, I’m just opposed to doing a commercial film that doesn’t feel organic to me. So if we’re going to do a commercial film we thought, ‘Let’s do something that seems fun and actually have something to say.’”