http://indiefilm.movies.yahoo.com/article-9-/



Three Stooges' coming together at MGM
Wed Mar 25, 2009, 02:54 PM ET • Source: Hollywood Reporter

Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk.

MGM and the Farrelly brothers are finally slapping together their high-profile cast for "The Three Stooges," a comedy project the filmmakers have been developing for years. Sean Penn is set to play Larry, and Jim Carrey is in negotiations to play Curly. Benicio del Toro is a rumored possibility for the brothers' taciturn leader, Moe.

The studio is looking to start production in the fall for a 2010 release slot.

The project was originally set up at Columbia, which produced the 1930s Stooges shorts. C3 Entertainment Inc., which holds the licensing rights to the Stooges brand, then sold the feature rights to Warner Bros. in 2001 for the Farrellys to write and produce the movie. Eventually, Warner Bros. let the rights lapse and MGM's Mary Parent scooped them up along with the Farrellys' continuing participation.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly wrote the script, which Bobby has referenced as "Dumb, Dumber & Dumbest," and will produce with Bradley Thomas and Charlie Wessler. Earl and Robert Benjamin of C3 will executive produce.

The film is not a biopic but a fictional treatment that maintains the Stooges' gleeful slap schtick updated for a modern milieu.

Originally constructed as four separate shorts, the feature screenplay has since been streamlined into a single narrative. Included in the story line is an opening that shows the Stooges as kids in an orphanage, a device that will require some "Benjamin Button"-style visual trickery to place the adult actors' heads on child actors' bodies.

The Stooges maintain remarkably global brand recognition, and their shorts, films and cartoons are still broadcast in 30 countries. The Farrelly brothers' latest comedy "The Heartbreak Kid" grossed $124 million worldwide.

Penn is repped by CAA, Carrey by CAA and the Miller Co.

Someone told me this and I thought they were making it up.

I guess I won't be watching this.

You can't reproduce the Stooges, man. It'd be like remaking any Marx Bros' film; a lot of the cheekiness worked for the style of filming and humor of the 30's, and while still hilarious today Hollywood has moved on. Could you imagine how retarded Animal Crackers or Duck Soup would be if made today? They'd be either raunchy with cheesy effects or absurdly cheesy with cheesy effects, and the last few Farelly movies have shown they're too interested in raunch to produce an actual funny movie anymore.

After his hurricane Katrina boat adventure, I'd say Penn is perfect for a role in the Stooges!

Has Sean Penn Told A Joke in The Last 20 Years?

• Sean Penn has been cast in The Three Stooges. This would be great news if Sean Penn was funny.
  
  But Sean Penn is not. Sean Penn is the most serious person in the world.
  
  Maybe Sean Penn's plan is to encompass every type of pain a human can experience. We all know that drama can hurt, but comedy can literally crush your soul. He must know that there's a banana peel waiting to take him down and break his tailbone. That's real pain right there. That's range.
  
  Actually, the more I think about it, the more the I'm looking forward to the most serious person in the world getting smacked in the face. That's seriously funny. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

New York Post:

• Larry David, who has his first starring role in Woody Allen's "Whatever Works'' opening Friday, is rumored to be on MGM's short wish list to replace Sean Penn as Larry Fine in the supposedly imminent Farrelly Brothers Three Stooges project. Through the miracle of YouTube, here's Larry David playing Larry Fine in a sketch from "Fridays,'' ABC's short-lived answer to "Saturday Night Live'' from the early '80s.
  

  
  
  Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere says others being wooed to keep the decades-in-development project from imploding include Paul Giamatti, Adrien Brody, Simon Pegg and "The Hangover'' star Zach Galifianakis.

i tend to agree. the stooges just seem like one of the rare entertainment-based things that can't be remade. like mr. t, arnold, and a few other elite individuals / groups, the stooges are extraordinarily rare lightning in a bottle. i don't know how that could be recaptured.

I'm the G-man and I approve this message.

How did I never see this thread before?

This is wrong on so many levels.



You can't redo the Stooges.

The Three Stooges were the people and not just a concept of three guys beating the shit out of each other with funny sound effects. I think the fact that the 'replacement stooges' after Curly and Shemp died weren't as funny just proves the point. It was the chemistry of the people involved that made it work.

Agreed. I used to host trivia at a bar here and was surprised that no one could name the replacement Stooges. But, everyone knew Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp without having to think about it.

The Stooges were one of the best memories of my childhood. I even still have the old NES Stooges game.

I hope they're faithful to the greatest Stooges incarnation and give them bionic powers.

They should get Dusty Rhodes to play Curly.

As much as I hate to admit this, but I'm actually wanting to see the Stooges movie now. Sasso as Curly is a no-brainer, but the other two guys seem to pull off pitch perfect copying of Larry and Moe. The humor seems the same as the crazy shit the originals did in the shorts. I expect a few fart jokes to be added in because it's the Farrelly brothers, but the fact that it's PG leaves me to believe that they kept the broad appeal of kids and adults rather than selling out for the gross-out humor of the college frat crowd. I've actually warmed up to the idea, though Larry, Curly, Moe, and Shemp are still top stooges in my book.

Also, Sofía Vergara is in it.

No.

Check IMDB, she is in it.

Also Kate Upton.

The "no" was indicative of the sound the tears made, rolling off my cheek, as I realized you had sacrificed your unquestionable taste in film to want to see this offensive travesty. There's only ONE Moe, Larry, and Curly. These are not them. You are less in my eyes now...

I thought about giving it a chance but then I remember that the jersey shore were it in.

KATE. UPTONS. TITS.

You can find those all over the internet for free.

They get abused, though; so those two things might wind up cancelling each other out.

Its still getting them attention. That is what they feed off of.

Just like you.

I'll check it out. I like the Stooges but I'm not a big enough fan to be offended that someone's raping their memory.

It's not rape. It's more like fondling it while it lays unconscious in the back room of a party after drinking too much.

I was laughing pretty much from beginning to end. It isn't the greatest movie, but it's a good updating of the Stooges using not only their slapstick but wordplay as well. The Farrley's did a good job on this one. It really is the kind of movie the Stooges would be making if they were around today.

Plus, Sofia Vergara jiggles.