"The Monuments Men" to the rescue in a race against time The upcoming film "The Monuments Men," is based on a true story and focuses on the rescue of artworks requisitioned by the Nazis during World War II. Based on the book of the same name by Robert M. Edsel, "The Monuments Men" reunites Clooney with long-time producing and writing partner Grant Heslov in their first production since winning the Best Picture Oscar for "Argo." Co-written, produced and directed by George Clooney, the film also stars big names in cinema, such as Matt Damon, Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett. In the film, an Allied platoon made up of seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, is tasked with entering Germany in the closing stages of the war and returning the works of art and other, priceless culturally-important items to their rightful owners. They enter a race against time, with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell. "The Monuments Men" was originally scheduled for release in December, but was not finished in time and is now expected to come out in early February 2014, in North America. However, Clooney might regret the decision to push back the film's release date. The film's theme recently caught the world's attention with the news that 1,500 works of art by 20th-century masters, which had been seized by the Nazis and lost for decades, were found in a German apartment. Not only will "The Monuments Men" miss the ongoing buzz surrounding art stolen by the Nazis, but the film will also be released too late to be nominated for an Oscar in the next ceremony.