'Monuments Men' Stars Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett and Bill Murray Praise George Clooney's WWII Film
"Monuments Men" stars Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, and John Goodman offered blunt and often humorous takes on their roles in George Clooney's latest directorial project ahead of its release this week.
Blanchett spends much of her screen time portraying French art curator Claire Simone in "Monuments Men" alongside Matt Damon's character.
"Can you imagine my disappointment? I thought I was going to be working with Bill Murray," the Australian actress explained to The Christian Post before Damon interrupted with a joking apology, drawing laughter from the entire cast. "George, as we all know, is an incredible raconteur and I think it carries across into the way he makes films."
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"Projects like this don't come along with ensembles like this," she added. "The power of cinema is that it draws on those collective histories, and [this group of] noble quirky guys and girls changed where we are now."
The film, which Clooney both directed and stars in, takes place during World War II before its end in 1945. The story follows a group of men and one woman from several different Allied nations who worked together to preserve and restore historic pieces of art to its rightful owners during the Nazi invasion of Europe.
Damon had nothing but gushing things to say of working with his friend, Clooney. Referring to the director as being "obscenely talented," Damon pretended to accept monetary bribes from the Clooney for the praises at the press event.
"It can be a little annoying at times because it's like God said, 'Maybe this time I'll give one of them everything, how 'bout, let's make him handsome, and I'll tell you what, as he gets older, he'll even look better,'" Damon said laughingly of his co-star/director, who was pulling out $20 bills for each compliment toward him.
Murray said the story of "Monuments Men" is what drew him in to the project.
"The story is fascinating and untold," the 63-year-old actor enthused. "To do it with this group of people was not just ennoble, but so much fun. I had a chance to do a wonderful piece of work, we got to see a wonderful story unfold."
Clooney himself noted that the true-to-life film sheds light not only on the unsung heroes that were the Monuments Men, but on the importance of art.
"You can take away their families and kill them but if you take away their culture, that's when society breaks down," the actor/director recalled, referring to WWII as well as more recent atrocities in Sudan.
"It wasn't enough of killing, [enemies] had to destroy generations of work," the actor added. "'Monuments Men' is about saving art, about the fabric of our culture, our history. Art is mankind's way of recording history."
The film, which Clooney both directed and stars in, takes place during World War II before its end in 1945. The story follows a group of men and one woman from several different Allied nations who worked together to preserve and restore historic pieces of art to its rightful owners during the Nazi invasion of Europe.
Based on the book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History" by Robert M. Edsel, the film stars actors Clooney, Blanchett, Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Bob Balaban.
"Monuments Men" hits theaters everywhere Friday, Feb. 7. Watch the trailer here.
