George Clooney lost sleep and sent a flurry of early morning emails to Sony boss Amy Pascal after critics ripped into his World War II movie The Monuments Men. In the latest Sony email leak, it is revealed that Clooney was worried about how Sony head honchos would react given the hugely anticipated movie appear to be taking a critical mauling.

George Clooney                                                                                        George Clooney headed up the cast in The Monuments Men

On January 29, Clooney emailed Amy Pascal with the subject line "it's getting worse," and requesting "protection from all the reviews."

"Let's just make it a hit. I haven't slept in 30 hours. And it's 7am," Clooney added. 

More: read our full review of The Monuments Men

Pascal reacted confidently, telling the Hollywood star, "We will protect you by making money . that's the best revenge," according to the Daily Beast.

Clooney replied: "I adore you Amy. You are literally the only person running a studio that loves film. I fear I've let you all down. Not my intention. I apologise. I've just lost touch ... Who knew?" said Clooney, "Sorry. I won't do it again."

The Monuments MenBill Murray [L] co-starred in The Monuments Men

Featuring a glittering cast including Clooney himself, Bill Murray, Matt Damon and John Goodman, The Monuments Men told the true story of a World War II platoon tasked by FDR to go into Germany and rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves.

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However, it failed to come together and production was marred by delays and re-edits.

"For all its tremendous production values, George Clooney's The Monuments Men is a profoundly frustrating and unsatisfying film. Clooney simply can't settle on a tone for the story he is trying to tell," said Geoffrey McNab of the Independent. 

Nevertheless, the movie opened second on the box-office and made $155 million, more than doubling its production budget of $70 million.  

Watch the trailer for The Monuments Men: