Last year, Ben Affleck’s Argo took home Best Picture at the Oscars, and it looks like George Clooney is testing out his own addition to the true-history adventure-drama genre this year in hopes of garnering similar acclaim. The Monuments Men, which opens this December, unveiled a trailer last month that highlighted its huge cast and light but thrilling tone (think Argo meets Ocean’s Eleven). Now we’ve got some set photos which focus on one of its stars in particular – The Artist‘s Jean Dujardin.
Check them out below:
Directed by George Clooney, who also wrote the film and stars in it, The Monuments Men follows the unlikely true story of a group of art historians and museum curators who race to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II, before the works are destroyed as part of Hitler’s campaign against European culture.
The film is widely tipped to be a frontrunner for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars, which are veritably packed with viable contenders like Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, August: Osage County, Captain Phillips and The Wolf of Wall Street.
The Monuments Men‘s talented, big-name cast will certainly give it an edge on the awards circuit this year. The film stars Clooney, Dujardin, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban and Hugh Bonneville. Out of that line-up, Clooney is certainly the ace in the hole, both beloved and respected by the Academy, but Damon, Goodman and Dujardin are also all strong possibilities for Best Supporting Actor, while Blanchett is almost certainly a lock for Best Supporting Actress. Expect Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Clooney, and a Best Picture nomination is all but assured.
Are you excited to see The Monuments Men? Will it dominate this year’s Oscars, as many have predicted, or will the final product be less than the surefire hit we’re expecting? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
The Monuments Men opens wide December 18th.