Farrelly brothers plan Three Stooges film

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/nov/04/farrelly-brothers-three-stooges-film



It's slapstick versus gross-out: the Farrelly brothers, directors of high-concept comedies such as Me, Myself and Irene and Stuck on You, are to take on a new big-screen outing for the Three Stooges.

The film-makers, who pushed the envelope of what was acceptably funny in the late 90s and early part of this decade, are now planning to bring Moe, Larry and Curly back to the silver screen, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Their planned feature will actually be a series of four 20-minute shorts, in tribute to the format of the original Stooges' outings. There are no casting details yet, but the brothers will be looking for actors who can pull off Moe's surly alpha male, Larry's humourous sidekick and Curly's clumsy ignoramus.

The first episode will set the Stooges as seven-year-olds terrorising an orphanage run by nuns, until they are finally kicked out and left to fend for themselves.

"The Three Stooges are a timeless staple of comedy," said Mary Parent, chair of studio MGM, which will back the feature. "And when we heard what the Farrellys had in mind, we knew it was time for Larry, Moe and Curly to return to the big screen."

The original Three Stooges were active between 1923 and 1975, undergoing several lineup changes along the way. They made more than 25 feature films. In 2000, Mel Gibson produced a TV biopic, The Three Stooges, based on Michael Fleming's authorised biography, The Three Stooges: From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons.