Apple Is Going On 'The Greatest Beer Run Ever' With Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, And Possibly Bill Murray

In what sounds like a Hollywood Mad Libs production, Apple Studios is financing a new comedy for director Peter Farrelly called The Greatest Beer Run Ever, and it will star Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, and maybe even Bill Murray.

Deadline has news. Apple Studios is in talks to finance the new comedy The Greatest Beer Run Ever, based on the book of the same name by Chick Donahue and J.T. Malloy. The story follows US Marine Corps John "Chick" Donohue as he attempts to deliver some beer to his friends. The catch is that his three friends are in the middle of fighting for the US Army in Vietnam. But that didn't stop him from hitching a ride on a Merchant Marine ship with a backpack full of beer.

But this beer run isn't smooth sailing. He got a little help from his wardrobe of shorts and Hawaiian shirts, which led many to believe he was working for the CIA.. But as the official synopsis for the book notes, "Landing in Qui Nho'n, Chick set off on an adventure that would change his life forever—an odyssey that took him through a series of hilarious escapades and harrowing close calls, including the Tet Offensive." Yeah, that sounds like quite an epic beer run, and Pabst Blue Ribbon actually chronicled the story back in 2015:

Zac Efron would take the lead as Chick Donohue, but it's not clear what role Russell Crowe would be taking. It wouldn't be too hard to picture him as an older Donohue telling the story and appearing throughout a movie told with flashbacks, but that's just speculation on my part. Bill Murray's potential role is also undisclosed at this time, but he's only being courted for the job right now, and he's notoriously difficult to lock down for a movie (though it helps that he co-starred in Kingpin and Osmosis Jones for the Farrelly Brothers). If these three all come together for this movie, it will certainly be something worth trying out.

Typically, Peter Farrelly directs comedies with his brother Bobby Farrelly. They previously delivered Dumb & Dumber, There's Something About Mary, Kingpin, and Me, Myself & Irene. In more recent years, they've struggled to find the same success they had in the 1990s, giving audiences duds like Hall Pass, The Three Stooges, and the disappointing Dumb & Dumber To. But Peter Farrelly has carved out a solo directing career thanks to the Oscar-winning Green Book, and since then he's been trying to get The Greatest Beer Run Ever off the ground with Skydance.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever will be co-written by Peter Farrelly along with Brian Currie and Pete Jones. Andrew Muscato will produce along with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger at Skydance. It's anticipated that this will be an Apple Original Films title, which likely means this will get a theatrical release before being sent to AppleTV+, but all those details are still being worked out.