MGM Studio and the Farrelly brothers have closed Sean Penn to play Larry, and negotiations are underway with Jim Carrey to play Curly, with the actor already making plans to gain 40 pounds to approximate the physical dimensions of Jerome “Curly” Howard.
The studio is knocking on Benicio Del Toro head to play Moe.
What am I talking about? The Three Stooges! With all three actors, MGM and the Farrelly brothers have pulled off a coupe.
As reported here in November, the film is not a biopic, but rather a comedy built around the antics of the three characters that Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Howard played in the Columbia Pictures shorts.
Production starts in early fall for a release sometime in 2010. The Farrellys also wrote the script.
Last time Penn was in a comedy was 1989’s We’re No Angels. It’s a good turn for Penn, rather refreshing, I’d say.
According to Variety, the Farrellys have long had their eyes on Del Toro to play Moe. Del Toro showed his comedic timing in Snatch.
It’s no surprise that Carrey is to play Curly. Howard established the character as a seminal physical comedian, from the first time he appeared in the first Stooges short in 1934 until he suffered a stroke on the set in 1946.
