George Clooney unveils 'Monuments Men'

George Clooney will write, direct and star in a movie based on Robert M Edsel's book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History.

The Ides of March star is working on a screenplay for the Sony Pictures film with frequent collaborator Grant Heslov.

"I'm excited about it," Clooney told TheWrap. "It's a big budget, you can't do it small - it's landing in Normandy.

"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'."

Monuments Men tells the story of a special force of American and British museum personnel who risked their lives to retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

Clooney and Heslov have previously teamed up for Good Night and Good Luck, The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Ides of March.

Monuments Men is yet to be given a release date.

Watch a trailer for Clooney's The Ides of March below: