At around 8:30 a.m. a woman standing at the corner of Walnut Street and Eden Street said, “That him!” as a black Jeep Grand Cherokee drove by the former Commerce High School in Worcester.
The Cherokee, with a placard sitting on the driver’s side dashboard that read “The Tender Bar”, eventually pulled into the back parking lot of the school off of Sudbury Street. George Clooney stepped out of the driver’s seat and closed the door.
A couple of fans shouted his name. He turned, looked and waved before disappearing behind a few sets and into the building.
Clooney has been appearing across Massachusetts as part of filming for the move “The Tender Bar.”
The movie takes place in Long Island but has been shooting across Massachusetts. The film depicts a young boy, who is searching for role models after his father left shortly after he was born. He develops bonds with his uncle, played by Ben Affleck, and other patrons at the bar. The drama was adapted from the 2005 memoir by Pulitzer-winning author J.R. Moehringer.
Work on “The Tender Bar” is expected to be done mostly inside the former Commerce High School on Walnut Street.
Crews spent the morning preparing for shooting in Worcester. Lights lit up the building’s facade along Walnut Street with a single police car outside to ensure traffic didn’t interfere.
Clooney has already been spotted snapping selfies with fans in Wakefield, Beverly, Fitchburg, Ashby and Watertown for the production on the film.
Worcester has been described as a “hot bed” for movie production by those who work in the film industry.
From 2006 to 2017, production companies shot 26 films in the city, according to the Massachusetts Film Office. More than a dozen projects were completed or are underway in the last three years in Worcester with big names like Liam Neeson and Ryan Reynolds visiting the city.
The production of “The Tender Bar” will add Clooney to the list.