Clooney steps back behind the camera for Ides of March

George Clooney is set to show Ben Affleck he’s not the only pretty-boy actor who can direct a quality film. The Oscar-winning actor has secured financing for his fourth directorial effort THE IDES OF MARCH, an adaptation of the Broadway play “Farragut North.” Clooney will produce the film with fellow ladies man Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood have all signed on to star alongside Clooney in the film, which the actor co-wrote with long-time buddy Grant Heslov (the pair previously teamed on GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. So if you’re keeping tabs at home, that’s Clooney starring, directing, writing and producing…

The film will star Gosling as a powerful, up-and-coming press secretary for a presidential candidate. His career and ultimately the track of his boss’ candidacy are derailed by a more seasoned veteran of DC politics (Giamatti) after an affair with a teenage volunteer (Wood). Clooney will play the would-be president (said to be based on Howard Dean) and Tomei will play a New York Times reporter caught up in the mix. (Chris Pine, he of the USS Enterprise and stopping unstoppable trains, previously starred in the Broadway version.)

Filming on the project will begin early next year.