George Clooney's been steadily putting together the pieces for his next directorial effort, the WWII-era heist thriller, The Monuments Men. As you'd expect for a guy of his statute, the cast that he's been eying has been stellar, with Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, and Paul Giamatti rumored, with Bill Murray recently signing on. But if you thought Clooney had called in all the chips he had with that crew, then think again because more high-profile names have just come aboard.
Deadline reports that James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, has signed on for the film, joined by John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville(Downtown Abbey), and Bob Balaban(Moonrise Kingdom). Craig is coming off the incredible reviews and box office for Skyfall, while Goodman is revelling in the success of Ben Affleck's Argo and has Flight with Denzel Washington opening this week. The site also confirms Blanchett, Murray, and Dujardin, while Giamatti is nowhere to be found. The assumption has been that Murray may be slipping into whatever role Giamatti was set for.
Sort of like a period piece Ocean's Eleven, the story is set at the tail end of WWII and has a team of art enthusiasts hired by the government to retrieve priceless works from the Nazis. Clooney is set to play U.S. Army Office George Stout, while Blanchett has been pegged as a member of the French resistance. The rest of the roles are unclear at this point, but does it really matter? With filming set to kick off in March, there's every possibility we'll be talking about The Monuments Men as a player in the Oscar race next year. And if not, it'll be one hell of a fun ride.
