George Clooney is currently in talks to direct an adaption of The Tender Bar for Amazon Studios. Clooney previously directed Midnight Sky for Netflix, which starred Felicity Jones. The film premiered on the streaming service this year. 

If the deal goes through, Clooney will not only direct but also produce alongside his partner Grant Heslov. The two would produce under their Smokehouse Pictures banner. 

The Tender Bar is the real-life coming of age story of author J. R. Moehringer. Moehringer published the book in 2005, after becoming a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. The book follows Moehringer’s early years and what it was like growing up without a father. Before he was born, Moehringer’s father, a New York disc-jockey, vanished. Moehringer tries time and time again to find a father figure replacement throughout his young life. The young boy turns to his uncle’s bar to find friendship and, ultimately, a replacement for his father. 

Academy Award winner William Monahan will write the script. Monahan won his Oscar for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ for his work on The Departed. 

There has been no word on when the film will be released or when production will begin on the project.