EXCLUSIVE: Director Peter Farrelly is finally ready to follow the Oscar winner for best picture Green Paper. Apple Studios is in talks to finance The greatest beer production of all time, with Zac Efron and Russell Crowe in negotiations to star and Bill Murray is being courted for a supporting role.
Since that victorious Oscar Night, Farrelly has his eyes set on this film, which he developed with Skydance. He co-wrote the screenplay with Brian Currie and Pete Jones, based on the best-selling book The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty and War by Chick Donahue and JT Molloy. The film will be produced by Andrew Muscato and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger of Skydance. I heard that they are tying up the details, but that the film will be made as an Apple Original Films title.
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Beer Run tells the story of Donohue leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood friends in the army – while they were fighting in Vietnam. Donohue took a good idea to the extreme, hitching a ride on a Merchant Marine ship and then carrying beer through the jungle while trying to track down his three friends. Dressed in Hawaiian shorts and shirts, he was mistaken for the CIA, which made his effort a little easier. Finally, when he finished his beer run, the Tet Offensive took place. Efron will play Donohue. The hope is to start production in August, probably in New Zealand or Australia.
Farrelly’s Green Paper he won three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Supporting Actor by Mahershala Ali. His co-star Viggo Mortensen was also nominated, and the $ 23 million budget film grossed $ 321 million worldwide .
Apple continues to bet on star-driven films after receiving Oscar nominations for Wolfwalkers and Greyhound.
Efron is recording the 2nd season of With feet on the ground for Netflix, and it will be the next Firestarter title remake for Blumhouse and Universal. He is represented by CAA, Alchemy and Felker Toczek.
Crowe, coming out of the road rage movie at Solstice Studios Unbalanced, is represented by George Freeman and Goodman Genow of Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Farrelly is with CAA, Anonymous Content and Lichter Grossman.