George Clooney in negotiations to direct a feature adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer J.R. Moehringer’s memoir The Tender Bar
George Clooney is an Oscar-winning actor and producer who is swiftly becoming a major player as a film director, too.
The Syriana star, 59, has set his sights on his next project as a director, for the film adaptation of writer J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir, The Tender Bar.
The film will be Clooney’s seventh feature film as helmer, after notable entries including 2005’s Good Night, And Good Luck, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.
Hollywood heavyweight: George Clooney has set his sights on his next project as a director, for the adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir, The Tender Bar; seen here in 2015
The Tender Bar centers on the writer as a child in 1970s New York City, in search of a father figure and the various fathers-by-proxy he finds at a local watering hole.
The announcement, made by Deadline, comes as Clooney wraps production on the Netflix movie The Midnight Sky, which he both stars in and directs.
That film, costarring Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo, Miriam Shor and Demián Bichir, is an apocalyptic thriller following a lone scientist in the Arctic who must stop a group of astronauts from returning home to a strange global catastrophe.
Memoir: The Tender Bar centers on the writer as a child in 1970s New York City, in search of a father figure and the various fathers-by-proxy he finds at a local watering hole
Back out of gravity: The announcement comes as Clooney wraps production on the Netflix movie The Midnight Sky, which he both stars in and directs
George made his directorial debut in 2002, for the often-overlooked Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind starring Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore.
As with many of his directorial efforts, Clooney appeared in that film as well, which explored the real-life story of Chuck Barris, game show host-turned-purported C.I.A. hitman.
After that, Clooney went on to the success of Good Night, And Good Luck, which earned him not only an Oscar nod for directing, but also a nomination for writing the original screenplay with his filmmaking partner Grant Heslov.
Behind the camera: George made his directorial debut in 2002, for the often-overlooked Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
In front of the camera, too: That film starred Sam Rockwell, and as with many of his directorial efforts, Clooney appeared in it as well
Then came four more films with the ER star as director – 2008’s Leatherheads, 2011’s The Ides of March, The Monuments Men in 2014 and 2017’s Suburbicon, starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.
Most recently, George helmed two episodes of the Hulu miniseries adaptation of Catch-22, in which he also appeared.
For The Tender Bar, he is also in talks to co-produce through his company with Heslov, Smokehouse Pictures, and the film will be housed at Amazon Studios.
After that: Clooney went on to the success of Good Night, And Good Luck, which earned him not only an Oscar nod for directing, but also a nomination for co-writing the screenplay
Most recently: George helmed two episodes of the Hulu miniseries adaptation of Catch-22, in which he also appeared; seen at the premiere of that project in May 2019 in London, England