Did George Clooney introduce Prince Harry to his ghostwriter?
Did George Clooney introduce Harry to the ghostwriter who’ll pen his $20million tell-all? Actor is turning the author’s own memoir into a movie starring Ben Affleck next year
- Publishing experts say Harry will have been paid at least a $20million advance
- He could earn far more in sales once the book is released next year
- In a statement on his website, he said he’ll be donating the proceeds of the book to charity
- Barack and Michelle Obama were given a joint $65million advance for their memoirs by Penguin Random House in 2017
- J.R. Moehringer is Harry’s ghostwriter for the as-yet untitled memoir that Penguin Random House has bought the rights to
- Moehringer is a Pulitzer-winning journalist who previously worked for the LA Times
- His past celebrity biographies include Andre Agassi’s Open and Shoe Dog, by Nike co-founder Phil Knight
- It’s unclear how the partnership with Harry came about – Moehringer lives in Berkley, 300 miles from Harry and Meghan’s Montecito mansion
- Since quitting royal life, the pair have formed lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify and Meghan has written children’s books
- They have also taken payment in speaking fees for firms like JP Morgan
The author ghostwriting Prince Harry‘s new book is J.R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer-winning journalist and writer who previously worked with Andre Agassi and the co-founder of Nike on their own money-spinning memoirs.
It’s unclear how the pair were put in touch but it’s possible Harry was introduced to him by George Clooney, who is turning Moehringer’s own memoir, The Tender Bar, into a movie next year.
Harry and Meghan are friends with George and Amal Clooney. The Clooney’s gave Meghan a ride on a private jet back from America to London in 2019 after Archie’s baby shower.
They attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding and ‘had dinners’ with the pair when they were still living in the UK.
Clooney is directing The Tender Bar, a film adaptation of Moehringer’s 2004 memoir. The film stars Ben Affleck and will be released next year.
Harry has been working on the book for the last year and a first draft is due by October. Penguin Random House has purchased the rights, Page Six reports.
Prince Harry’s new memoir will be ghost-written by Pulitzer-winning journalist and author J.R. Moehringer, an L.A. Times reporter turned author
George and Amal Clooney attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2019. Clooney is directing a film adaptation of Moehringer’s memoir, The Tender Bar, that will be released next year
It’s unclear how much exactly he’s being paid for it but Penguin Random House previously paid the Obamas $65million in a joint deal.
Moehringer’s 2004 memoir The Tender Bar
Experts tell DailyMail.com that Harry will have been given ‘at least’ a $20million advance for his memoir, with millions more to be made in sales.
It’s unclear if Meghan has plans for her own memoir.
Another source said: ‘Harry’s advance alone is in the $15 million range, and world publishing and movie and film rights alone could be worth a fortune like never seen before.’
In a statement on his website Archewell, he said he’d be donating the proceeds to charity.
Moehringer’s previous books include Andre Agassi’s biography, Open, and Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog. Page Six first reported that he was working with Harry on his book.
His own memoir, The Tender Bar, is being made into a film by George Clooney, who will direct. Clooney’s wife Amal is friends with Meghan and lent her a private jet to travel to and from the US from London before Archie’s birth in 2019.
Clooney on the set of The Tender Bar in Boston in March. The movie will be released next year and stars Ben Affleck
Moehringer has not commented on the partnership and it’s unclear how it came about.
His agent did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s inquiries on Monday afternoon.
He lives in Berkley, California, around 300 miles from Harry and Meghan’s Montecito compound.
Before ghost-writing, Moehringer worked as a reporter for The New York Times and L.A. Times.
He describes his ‘big break’ as an article in 1997 for the Times about the 1950s boxer Bob ‘Bombardier’ Satterfield, who he’d discovered was sleeping on benches in L.A.
The article he wrote – Resurrecting The Champ – became a movie later starring Samuel L. Jackson.
Moehringer’s own memoir, The Tender Bar, told the story of his New York upbringing and how he spent it in a bar.
In a statement on his website on Monday, Harry said he’d be giving the proceeds of the book to charity
Moehringer’s previous books include Andre Agassi’s biography, Open, and Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog. Page Six first reported that he was working with Harry on his book.
Moehringer with Samuel L. Jackson and producer Bradley Fischer. In 1998, Moehringer wrote an article for The LA Times about the 1950s boxing legend Bob Bombardier Satterfield, who he’d discovered was sleeping on park benches. The article was turned into a movie starring Jackson titled Resurrecting The Champ
He was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for his story on Satterfield and he was awarded the prize for his story on Gee’s Bend, a river town in Alabama.
The story also appeared in The Los Angeles Times.
In a statement on Monday, Harry said of the book: ‘I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become.
‘I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story— the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned — I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.
The advance to beat: Barack and Michelle Obama were paid a joint advance of $65million by Penguin Random House for their biographies. It was the highest advance ever paid
‘I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.’
He and Meghan posted an announcement about it on their website.
‘For the very first time, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex will share the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him.
‘His intimate and heartfelt memoir will cover his lifetime in the public eye from childhood to the present day, including his dedication to service, the military duty that twice took him to the frontlines of Afghanistan and the joy he has found in being a husband and father.’
Harry and Meghan have made millions through deals with Spotify and Netflix since they quit royal life at the start of 2020. The pair spoke to Oprah in March and said they needed the money to keep themselves and their kids safe
