Ben Affleck To Star In The Clooney-Directed “The Tender Bar”

Ben Affleck has found his next starring role, set to feature in the George-Clooney directed The Tender Bar from a script written by William Monahan. The movie is being set up at Amazon. While this is certainly an all-star pairing, Affleck is one of the most divisive figures in Hollywood. His directorial efforts, such as the Warner Bros. 2010 picture, The Town, are often universally praised. Affleck would even win and Academy Award for his work on Argo.

His acting resume, however, is more of a mixed bag. He has found acclaim in films such as Gone Girl, but he’s had many misfires along the way and audiences are often trepidatious when he’s linked to a project. Fans were particularly skeptical when he was announced as Batman in DC’s Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, though he did prove to be one of the bright spots in the superhero epic.

Even so, Affleck is a proven commodity, regardless of some of his more questionable acting choices. His latest drama, The Way Back, released earlier this year, was a nuanced effort for the actor that allowed him to show off his impressive range and earned him some of the best reviews of his career. There’s even some Oscar buzz building for Affleck as a result.

The film will be based on J.R. Moehringer’s memoir about growing up in Long Island. The book sees Moehringer continually bouncing between father figures whilst working at his uncle’s seedy bar. A previous adaptation of the book was set up at Sony, but it fell apart when the attached director, Ted Melfi, departed over scheduling issues.

Clooney, in addition to directing, will also produce the project along with his partner Grant Heslov through their Smokehouse Pictures company. There are no other casting announcements, and no indication of whether Clooney himself will take on a role. There are no production timelines, either, but with Affleck’s busy schedule, starring in Robert Rodriguez’s Hypnotic and directing The Big Goodbye¸ it’s likely The Tender Bar won’t move forward until sometime in late 2021.