Ben Affleck in talks to star in George Clooney directed drama The Tender Bar, an adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s coming-of-age story The Tender Bar: A Memoir from Amazon Studios.
The pair won an Oscar together for their work as producers on Argo. Clooney and his producer associate Grant Heslov will produce the film through their Smokehouse banner. Ted Hope is a producer, too. William Monahan, who received the Academy Award for best-adapted screenplay for The Departed, wrote the movie’s script.
Moehringer’s novel was first released in 2005 by Hachette Books, and it focuses on the author growing up in Long Island searching for father figures amongst the drinkers at his uncle’s bar. His father was a New York City disc jockey who disappeared before his son said his first word. When he can no longer hear his father’s voice on the radio, the boy turns in despair to his uncle’s bar, where he discovers friendships from other patrons and his Uncle Charlie, that takes him to the beach, ball games, and inevitable their inner circle.
It is not clear yet if Clooney will also star in the movie but never say never to that happening. Clooney and Affleck haven’t worked together since 2012 with Argo.