At the Contenders Film: Los Angeles event on Sunday, I was accompanied by The Tender Bar star Ben Affleck and the two young actors – Tye Sheridan and Daniel Ranieri – who share the role of the older and younger JR Moehringer in George Clooney’s film adaptation of Moehringer’s memoir, virtually as part of the Amazon Studios presentation.
Clooney’s follow-up to his Netflix science fiction picture The Midnight Sky is an adaptation of the successful personal coming-of-age story of Pulitzer Prize winner Moehringer, written by Oscar winner William Monahan (The Departed, The Gambler).
It tells the story of JR (Sheridan and Ranieri), a boy who grows up in Long Island and looks for father figures among the guests in his uncle Charlie’s (Affleck) bar. When his mother (Lily Rabe) struggles to give her son the opportunities she was denied – and to leave her father’s (Christopher Lloyd) run-down house – JR begins to realize his romantic and professional dreams.
‘The Tender Bar’ trailer: First look at Ben Affleck in George Clooney’s Amazon coming-of-age film
For Affleck, almost a decade after reuniting with Clooney, after they both shared the 2012 Oscar for Best Picture for Argo, which Affleck also directed and starred in, this reunion, in which he simply appeared, was a dream come true.
‘The tender bar’
Amazon
“It’s really only one of two times in my entire career that a great director has sent me and offered me a great script with a great role. It’s very unusual, ”Affleck told me. “I always thought I was going to create my own material and put things together, and this was one of the things I thought would happen to happier people. It was just manna from heaven.
“Before I even read it, I just wanted to do it with George,” he added. “I really like him, but I didn’t even know how good he really was a director, especially with actors, and how much he would help me. I read the part and thought, ‘Is that a joke?’ because anyone would. I was just amazed. It was a breeze. It was one of those very, very simple decisions that you will never regret. They are very hopeful and the experience was everything I could hope for and the other actors were fabulous. I know that everyone always says that, that’s what is expected of you in situations like this, but that’s the rare exception where everything is true. “
Sheridan spoke about the relationship with JR when he took on the role of the older teenager in hopes of going to Yale and becoming a journalist.
‘The Tender Bar’ London Film Festival Review: Ben Affleck and George Clooney team up for a warm and memorable family story
“I think I have a lot of this character personally connected with me,” he said. “I think a lot of people watch the movie or read the memoir and know someone they may have grown up with who only had a single parent at home. I think it’s a story about a lot of people, but I think for me it was the idea of overcoming a place you come from and all the stereotypes that come with it. I think that really appealed to me, and then I was a fan of a lot of George’s films and then there was a chance to work with an actor and director like that, and Ben too. And it had a lot of heart and soul. It’s a film that feels good, especially at this time. “
Ranieri had never made a movie before and was basically spotted from a YouTube video that went viral railing against the pandemic.
“It was crazy. My mom made a video of me cursing. She showed it to some friends. It went viral. A few months later, Jimmy Kimmel saw it on a comedian’s Instagram and then his assistant contacted my mom and said, Jimmy wanted me on that show that night, “he said.” So I was on the show and right after that, George Clooney’s assistant Rachel Tenner contacted us and said George wanted me on his next movie. How does that work ?? “
Well it happened and Ranieri steals all of his scenes and now he wants to become an actor.
Amazon Studios opened The Tender Bar in theaters in Los Angeles and New York on December 17, followed by a national rollout five days later. It will be available for streaming worldwide on January 7th via Amazon Prime Video.
Check back on Tuesday to see the panel video.
Deadline Contenders Film Los Angeles Official sponsor is Aero.
Further sponsors are: Michter’s, Mezcal Los Siete Misterios, Eyepetizer, Final Draft and modMD.
Partners include: Modern Resale, Tidelli and Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea.
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