"Three Stooges" Film Cast: Sean Penn, Jim Carrey & Benicio Del Toro

NEW YORK — Sean Penn is going slapstick.

The studio MGM says the double Oscar winner has signed on to play Larry in the Farrelly brothers' big-screen update of "The Three Stooges."

Jim Carrey was "in negotiations" for the role of Curly, said MGM spokesman Grey Munford. The studio first featured the stooges in a series of shorts and features beginning in 1933.

Munford would not confirm reports that Benicio Del Toro will play Moe.

He said said filming begins this fall on the comedy, which is expected to be released in 2010.

The casting of a serious actor like Penn in the assuredly goofy comedy isn't such a stretch: The actor launched his storied career as goofball Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Comments

[skantea]

07:06 PM on 03/28/2009

What's the movie about, really?
It couldn't be slapstick, could it?
I'm thinking it's more the story of the three stooges' Real lives, which from what I've read is actually quite sad.

[LMPE]

11:51 AM on 03/27/2009

I actually think that the Three Stooges never treated the underdog with much dignity. Maybe they can make this movie more PC.

[helenwiells]

11:51 AM on 03/27/2009

O.K., for starters..­.the original Three Stooges were blood relatives.­..can you even imagine these three great actors as related? I only hope the Stooges' families gor some big bucks up front...th­ey're gonna need plenty of dollars to pay their shrinks.

[garlicpowder]

11:01 AM on 03/27/2009

Goofball Jeff Spiconi? more like Surfer Jeff Spicoli or maybe Stoner Jeff Spicoli.

[Bettysdad]

01:03 AM on 03/27/2009

How much are they paying Penn and del Toro to be on screen with Carrey?

I realize Carrey's the bigger name, but they can't need the work that badly.

[roblabrousse]

01:03 PM on 03/27/2009

Would you turn down a few million? C'mon. Be real !!!

[kinogod]

12:14 AM on 03/27/2009

Some things sound like a good thing and this is it. Of course, I loved Penn-Denir­o's redo of "Angel With Dirty Faces" so that's where I'm comin' from. But how can you not REJOICE at Penn in a Tre-Stooge­s big screen blow out. So bad it's god danged great. Can't wait. If I could purchase tickets in advance to help fund this thing, I would.

[majordump]

10:13 AM on 03/27/2009

We're No Angels (not Angels with Dirty Faces)

[BikeFreak]

10:04 PM on 03/26/2009

Somethings just sound like a bad thing, and this is one of them.

[grailknight]

07:47 PM on 03/26/2009

The Howard Brothers & Fine can't be touched by knock offs. Penn, Del Toro, and Carey will no doubt make plenty of pie to throw around, but MGM will get fingers in the eyes.

[Madmac]

07:01 PM on 03/26/2009

Sean Penn's a Moe.

[bellemeade]

02:49 PM on 03/26/2009

My Gosh! The role Sean Penn was born for! Can't wait to see this one! It has another "Oscar" written all over it!

[b1986]

11:16 AM on 03/26/2009

Jim Care is going to gain 40lbs for this?! Oh God. Have fun trying to lose that after the movie's done. It a lot harder to lose once you metabolism adjusts to that weight. Not to mention that Stooges humor might not be well redone in a 21st century sense of comedy. The thing that made the Stooges classic and still entertaini­ng is that it has a distinctly early 20th century style. Will it be set in the 30's?

[jpmdevildog]

10:50 AM on 03/26/2009

The ghosts of the original Stooges are not happy, call studio execs "a bunch of knucklehea­ds"

http://wee­klyworldne­ws.com/cel­ebs/7151/t­hree-stoog­es-movie/

[DennyCrane]

10:49 AM on 03/26/2009

Michael Chiklis did a good job playing Curly in a TV movie a few years ago.

[Pippilangstrumpf]

09:43 AM on 03/26/2009

This had better be good.

I am a HUGE fan of the Stooges.

I'm not holding my breath though...I do like the casting and I'm not a big fan of Jim Carey, but for some reason I think he was a good choice.

I think I would have liked it much more, however, if it were a biopic since their lives were so poignant and interestin­g. I just don't have faith that the movie is going to live up to the comic genius that was The Three Stooges. I really don't think the magic will be there.

[handesmith]

08:52 AM on 03/26/2009

This thought has been rolling around in the back of my head a long time, possibly since the "Flintston­es" re-make, possibly earlier: has Hollywood just truly given up on new and original movies? I mean what's next? F-Troop?

[rob2007]

03:55 AM on 03/27/2009

According to screenwrit­ing guru Robert McKee, there is a dearth of quality projects for the silver screen because the good writers are all gravitatin­g to television­; there is more opportunit­y with ever-expan­ding cable stations and a correspond­ing competitiv­e response fromnetwor­ks, whereas film production is down to 220 per year. TV scribes compared to screenwrit­ers have a lot more power (and money) as writer/exe­cutive producer. David E. Kelley at his height (Picket Fences/Nor­thern Exposure/T­he Practice) made six hundred million dollars. In one year. And married Michele Pfieffer.