You can also use get_object_or_404(), it will raise a Http404
if the object wasn't found:
user_pass = log_in(request.POST) #form class
if user_pass.is_valid():
cleaned_info = user_pass.cleaned_data
user_object = get_object_or_404(User, email=cleaned_info['username'])
# User object found, you are good to go!
...