USA/FILE: George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett attend the world premiere of "The Monuments Men" in New York

Record ID: 221238

  • Title: USA/FILE: George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett attend the world premiere of "The Monuments Men" in New York
  • Date: 5th February 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 04, 2013) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR, SAYING: "I like the writing process and I like the directing process. I think they are the most creative parts of film making. And I enjoy doing it. You know, it's just creative, you know, you get to boss all these actors around, that's fun." ACTRESS CATE BLANCHETT POSING FOR PICTURES ACTOR MATT DAMON ON RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATT DAMON, ACTOR, SAYING: "You know, these guys who, they weren't, they were well past like their soldiering prime. And they had real great careers as curators and professors and art historians. And they just gave it all up to go and rescue these treasures. These masterpieces, they're kind of - the centerpiece of our culture because they knew that to lose those would be kind of a deaf blow to who we are." CLOONEY ON RED CARPET ACTOR HUGH BONNEVILLE SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUGH BONNEVILLE, ACTOR, SAYING: "This group of people doing what they did is a story that hasn't been told before really. And it is distilled down to just sort of eight characters in George's adventure. But at the heart of it is a bigger story and I think if it encourages one viewer to go and and have a look at the history of the Second World War and what these people did, that would be a great thing." ACTOR BILL MURRAY SPEAKING TO REPORTER MURRAY POSING FOR PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) BILL MURRAY, ACTOR, SAYING: "Well, he made, George made a schedule for me that I was able to maintain my family life and go back and forth from the job to my home. And - for a long period of time, which no one would ever do, and made it possible for me to drag my guys along when the school year ended. And just, he just looked after all of us. I'm not the only one." ACTOR BOB BALABAN SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOB BALABAN, ACTOR, SAYING: "Well, we did have a lot of fun. I mean, we did spend some time in some pretty gritty salt mines. But it's a wonderful bunch of people and we're all kind of friends. I'm kind of friends with a bunch of these people and then kind of met some new friend along the way. And George creates a very light-hearted atmosphere, whatever he's doing. Which is a very nice way to work." MONUMENTS MEN POSTER ACTOR JOHN GOODMAN SPEAKING TO REPORTER ACTOR JEAN DUJARDIN ON RED CARPET ACTOR DIMITRI LEONIDAS ON RED CARPET GEORGE CLOONEY'S FATHER, NICK CLOONEY ON RED CARPET
  • Embargoed: 20th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADVCN1LAVLJ6PR0UHE22XI3FPX
  • Story Text: For the most ambitious of his five films as director, George Clooney assembled a top-shelf cast of fellow actors to play art experts tasked with retrieving artistic treasure stolen by the Germans during World War Two.
    The star-studded cast reunited for the film's world premiere in New York on Tuesday (February 4).
    There is one person, though, who is not a Hollywood A-lister, not listed in the credits and who may play a big role in the box-office success of "The Monuments Men": an elderly German recluse who hoarded more than 1,400 artworks stolen by the Nazis and valued at 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
    When actor Bill Murray heard the news in November of the vast trove art discovered in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, he was glad the release of "The Monuments Men" had been delayed by a few months to February.
    Murray plays a Chicago architect recruited late in the war for a middle-aged Allied unit on a mission sanctioned by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    For the veteran actor, working with Clooney as a director made life on and off set easy.
    "George made a schedule for me that I was able to maintain my family life and go back and forth from the job to my home. And - for a long period of time, which no one would ever do, and made it possible for me to drag my guys along when the school year ended. He just looked after all of us. I'm not the only one," said Murray.
    Co-star Matt Damon plays a New York museum director in the movie and said he was surprised to learn about the story of these unlikely soldiers.
    "These guys who, they weren't, they were well past like their soldiering prime. And they had real great careers as curators and professors and art historians. And they just gave it all up to go and rescue these treasures. These masterpieces, they're kind of - the centerpiece of our culture because they knew that to lose those would be kind of a deaf blow to who we are," Damon said on the red carpet.
    Clooney, who also co-wrote and stars in "The Monuments Men," explained his passion for film making.
    "I like the writing process and I like the directing process. I think they are the most creative parts of film making. And I enjoy doing it. You know, it's just creative, you know, you get to boss all these actors around, that's fun," he said with a smile.
    For Clooney, "The Monuments Men" is "by far, by far" his most ambitious project in a career directing smaller films like "The Ides of March" and "Good Night, and Good Luck."
    The film cost $70 million to make, shared by Sony Corp and 21st Century Fox, and is forecast to bring in $24 million in its first weekend in Canada and the United States.
    He and producing-writing partner Grant Heslov based the movie on the book of the same name by Robert Edsel, and were inspired by the men that formed that group, but changed names and took liberties to develop characters. Clooney, 52, plays Frank Stokes, the group's leader and an art historian, based on George Stout from Harvard's Fogg Museum.
    Clooney made up his Monuments Men with a sculptor played by John Goodman and Bob Balaban as a theater director.
    On the red carpet Balaban talked about the mood on-set.
    "We did have a lot of fun. I mean, we did spend some time in some pretty gritty salt mines. But it's a wonderful bunch of people and we're all kind of friends. I'm kind of friends with a bunch of these people and then kind of met some new friends along the way. And George creates a very light-hearted atmosphere, whatever he's doing. Which is a very nice way to work."
    Oscar winner Jean Dujardin plays as a French-Jewish art dealer, and Hugh Bonneville portrays an alcoholic British art expert looking for a second chance.
    Bonneville, best known for his role on the hit TV show "Downton Abbey," hopes the film will inspire people to learn more about this section of history.
    "This group of people doing what they did is a story that hasn't been told before really. And it is distilled down to just sort of eight characters in George's adventure. But at the heart of it is a bigger story and I think if it encourages one viewer to go and and have a look at the history of the second World War and what these people did, that would be a great thing."
    Actress Cate Blanchett plays a Parisian curator who leads Damon to find art stowed away in mines by the retreating Nazis.
    Clooney rounds out cast with an appearance by his father: "I had to call him up and say I want you to play me as an old man. And he's like, 'I'm not quite sure I feel comfortable with that.' But it was really fun, and it's fun to have him in the movie."
    The film opens in North America on Friday (February 7) and will make its international premiere Saturday (February 8) at the Berlin International Film Festival.
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