George Clooney is set to tell the story of artwork stolen by the Nazis during WWII and has optioned the nonfiction book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History", by author Robert M. Edsel. Clooney will adapt the project with producing partner Grant Heslov for Sony Pictures. The filmmaker plans to direct the film, and may also star.

The book tells the story of the U.S. government's effort to retrieve artwork stolen by Hitler's forces and the art experts whose skills are put to use in the campaign. The title comes from the name given to the U.S. and U.K. art historians and museum curators who helped the military track down the stolen pieces.

"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," George Clooney told the blog The Wrap at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Saturday. "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.'"

No production date has been set.