Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Friendships George Clooney Jokes Brad Pitt Was the 'Cheapest' Actor Available for Their Upcoming Thriller George Clooney teased his upcoming thriller with Brad Pitt to PEOPLE at a special screening of his film The Tender Bar with Ben Affleck on Sunday By Alexia Fernández Published on October 4, 2021 05:09PM EDT Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty George Clooney is already cracking jokes about his next film with Brad Pitt. The actor spoke to People (the TV show!)'s special correspondent Adrianna Costa at a special screening of Amazon Studios' The Tender Bar in Los Angeles on Sunday. There, Clooney, 60, teased his upcoming thriller for Apple, which is also costarring and being co-produced by Pitt, 57. "Brad was obviously the cheapest of the actors available," Clooney joked as his wife Amal Clooney stood by his side. Brad Pitt and George Clooney Will Star in Upcoming Thriller for Apple The actor and director continued, "He's a friend of mine and we have a really good time together. I'm really looking forward to it." Clooney and Pitt previously worked together on the Ocean's franchise and Burn After Reading. Kevin Winter/Getty Images In 2015, Pitt revealed bidding on films between himself and Clooney could get competitive. At the time, Pitt had beat out Clooney to produce The Big Short. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "In all fairness, he outbid me on Argo," Pitt told Vulture of the 2012 movie starring and directed by Ben Affleck, which Clooney produced. "It can get competitive. We do naturally have a lot of the same tastes and interests." For The Tender Bar, Clooney also reunited with Affleck, whom he directed in the movie. "He's such a good actor, first and foremost, and obviously he's a wonderful director," Clooney said of working with Affleck. "We're friends and we trust each other so it was really easy. There wasn't any pushing or pulling. Just show up and get the job done." George Clooney Spent the Pandemic Teaching Pranks to His 4-Year-Old Twins: 'Can Really Pay Off' The film tells the coming-of-age story of a fatherless boy, J.R. (Daniel Ranieri) who grows into a young man (Tye Sheridan) under the tutelage of his Uncle Charlie (Affleck). The Tender Bar will be in theaters nationwide on Dec. 22 and on Amazon Prime Video on Jan. 7.