George Clooney is finishing up “The Monuments Men” for release later this year, which he is also producing along with Smoke House partner Grant Heslov. The duo, with Ben Affleck, picked up Oscars for Best Picture in February for “Argo,” and according to The Wrap, Clooney and Heslov are re-teaming with journalist Joshuah Bearman — whose 2007 Wired article spawned the Iran hostage crisis drama — for something called “Coronado High.”
The film, which Sony Pictures is in talks to acquire, will be based on an as-of-yet unpublished article about a group of teenagers used to smuggle drugs in Coronado, a resort community across the bay from San Diego near the Mexican border. But that’s all we have to go on at the moment.
Clooney and Heslov will produce with David Klawans, who is also producing an adaptation of Bearman’s 2010 Wired article “Art of the Steal: On the Trail of World”s Most Ingenious Thief.” No writer has been announced for “Coronado High,” though “Argo” was penned by Chris Terrio. Terrio won a boatload of awards last year, including the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Wrap also reports the project is being developed as a potential directing vehicle for Clooney.
When Clooney picked up the Oscar nomination for “Argo” in January, he entered the record books by having earned nominations in six different categories. When he won the prize six weeks later, he joined an elite club of Oscar-winning actors who have also picked up competitive Academy Awards in non-acting categories.
We’ll see if “The Monuments Men” adds to all that kudos glory later this fall, and we’ll certainly keep an eye on “Coronado High” as it develops.