George Clooney Directs Ben Affleck in ‘The Tender Bar’ Trailer

Have George Clooney and Ben Affleck entered this year’s Oscar race?

Based on the new trailer for their new movie The Tender Bar, which Clooney directed and Affleck stars in, the two stars could be in for some major hardware come awards season.

Based on J.R. Moehringer’s eponymous 2005 memoir, the film follows a young Moehringer as he comes of age in the Long Island town of Manhasset, and forms a deep bond with barkeep Uncle Charlie, who’s played by Affleck. The trailer eventually shifts to J.R. in his adult years, now played by Tye Sheridan, as he charts his path in the world, which includes both pursuing his dreams of becoming a writer and pursuing the love of his life. All the while, Moehringer ​​​​​​’s reliable uncle is there to offer up bits of wisdom that only an uncle can. 

Describing the film in an interview with Variety’s Marc Malkin, Affleck called The Tender Bar a movie about “kindness and love,” amongst other things.

“It’s a movie about kindness and love and support and goodness, ultimately, of people,” he explained. “I think the world is a tough and ugly place, particularly now, so I feel good injecting this movie onto the world.”

The film could ve the cherry on top of what has been quite the year for Affleck, who also co-wrote the upcoming film The Last Duel alongside longtime friend Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener. Affleck also stars in the film, and stopped by The Tonight Show to talk all about it. ​​​

“I think we were shocked it even got released,” Affleck said of his and Damon’s debut film Good Will Hunting. Fallon also shared throwback photos of the pair from when they were only 17.

The Tender Bar will be hitting select theaters on Dec. 17 before seeing an Amazon Prime Video wide release on Jan. 7. Watch the trailer for the film above, and more clips from Affleck and co.’s appearance on The Tonight Show below.