With director George Clooney’s The Tender Bar now streaming on Prime Video, I recently got to speak with Ben Affleck and Daniel Ranieri about making the film. Written by William Monahan and based on Pulitzer Prize-winning writer J.R. Moehringer’s memoir of the same name, the Massachusetts-set drama explores the relationship between the fatherless J.R. (Tye Sheridan) and his uncle (Affleck), as they bond at a bar overflowing with colorful patrons. The film also stars Lily Rabe, Ron Livingston, Christopher Lloyd, Max Martini, Briana Middleton, Max Casella. Ranieri plays the young J.R.
During the interview, Affleck and Ranieri talked about how Clooney directed them on set and helped them become better actors, how the movie is about the importance of family, how long it took Ranieri to talk to Affleck about being Batman, and Affleck talks about how his character could be described as Chucky from Good Will Hunting 25 years later. In addition, we talked about the popularity of YouTube, how Ranieri’s favorite personality is MrBeast, and more.
Watch what Ben Affleck and Daniel Ranieri had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.
Ben Affleck and Daniel Ranieri
- Die Hard talk
- What surprised Daniel Ranieri about making his first movie that he wasn’t expecting?
- Affleck on how he has described the character as Chucky from Good Will Hunting might be like 25 years later.
- What did like about William Monahan’s script and story?
- How the movie is about the importance of family and the need to connect as human beings.
- How did George Clooney direct them on set and help them become better actors?
- How long did it take Ranieri to talk to Affleck about being Batman?
- Who is Ranieri’s favorite YouTube star (MrBeast).
- Affleck on the explosion of YouTube.
Here's the official synopsis:
"The Tender Bar tells the story of J.R. (Sheridan), a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie (Affleck), is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother (Rabe) struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father (Christopher Lloyd) — J.R. begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams — with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar. The Tender Bar is based on the best-selling memoir of the same name by J.R. Moehringer."
