James R | On 24, Sep 2021

Amazon’s The Tender Bar has joined the line-up of this year’s London Film Festival.

The film, which is directed by George Clooney, stars Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Christopher Lloyd and Lily Rabe. It follows JR, a boy without a name and a father. At least, that’s the story according to many of the adults outside of his family. But when his mother moves back into her childhood home, JR’s charismatic bar-owning Uncle Charlie (Affleck) is determined the boy doesn’t see himself that way. Based on the memoirs of writer JR Moehringer and elegantly adapted for the screen William Monahan (The Departed), Tender Bar is a poignant reflection on the ways in which the right influence, at just the right time, can have a profound impact.

The film will have its international premiere on 10th October, with Clooney expected to be in attendance. It joins Encounter, the latest from the director Beast, another Amazon Studios title also playing at the festival. Also added to the programme this week are Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash. The Tender Bar will be released in US cinemas in December, and will stream worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on 7th January.

For more on the 2021 LFF, which will take place in cinemas and online, see our full guide here.

 

George Clooney to direct Amazon’s The Tender Bar

31st July 2020

George Clooney is planning to head from Netflix to Amazon for his next project, an adaptation of The Tender Bar.

JR Moehringer’s bestseller is a memoir about a boy striving to become a man, and his romance with a bar. JR grew up captivated by the voice of his father, a New York City disc jockey who vanished before JR had spoken his first word. At eight years old, suddenly unable to find The Voice on the radio, JR turned in desperation to the bar on the corner, where he found a rousing chorus of new voices. The alphas along the bar – including JR’s Uncle Charlie – took him to the beach, to ballgames, and ultimately into their circle. Torn between the stirring example of his mother and the lurid romance of the bar, JR tried to forge an identity somewhere in between.

The film was originally set up at Sony with Ted Melfi at the helm, but when the project went into turnaround, Amazon Studios picked it up. Clooney, who had been eyeing up MGM’s Boys in the Boat, has recently helmed Midnight Sky, a post-apocalyptic thriller for Netflix, in which he also starred alongside Felicity Jones.

Now, he’s in talks to direct The Tender Bar, which he would produce through his Smokehouse Pictures banner alongside professional partner Grant Heslov. Ted Hope is also on board as producer, with the script penned by The Departed writer William Monahan.

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