George Clooney is reportedly in negotiations to direct and produce “The Tender Bar” at Amazon Studios.
The film is based on the J.R. Moehringer memoir about growing up in Long Island and seeking out father figures among the patrons at his uncle’s bar. William Monahan (“The Departed”) penned the script.
Ted Melfi was originally slated to direct but when both he and Sony Pictures fell off the project, Amazon snapped it up. Clooney, Grant Heslov and Ted Hope will produce.
Clooney had been considering MGM’s Boys in the Boat, an adaptation of the Daniel James Brown book about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that won gold at the 1936 Olympics. Sources say he’s still attached but felt the timing wasn’t right given the complexity of shooting such a film in the backdrop of a pandemic. He decided to make The Tender Bar his next directing job.
It’s not clear if Clooney will also appear in the film, but the possibility is there. He last helmed the upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller “Midnight Sky”.
Source: Deadline
