Filmmaker adapting the bestselling book.
Ted Melfi, who is currently behind the camera directing Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd in his directorial debut ‘St. Vincent De Van Nuys,’ is attached to write and direct a big screen adaptation of Pulitzer-Prize-winning author J.R. Moehringer’s memoir ‘The Tender Bar,’ reports Deadline.
Published in 2005, Moehringer’s bestselling book tells of how he grew up without father, recounting his coming of age experiences at a local bar, a grand old New York saloon that was a sanctuary for all types of men. The flamboyant characters along the bar — including J.R.’s Uncle Charlie, a Humphrey Bogart look-alike; Colt, a Yogi Bear sound-alike; Joey D, a soft-hearted brawler; and Cager, a war hero who raised handicapping horses to an art — taught the young man, tended him, and provided a kind of fatherhood by committee.
Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping of Chernin Entertainment are on board to produce with Mark Bauch serving as executive producer.