Andy Samberg, Johnny Knoxville To Star In 'The Three Stooges' Remake?: Report

They've got some big shoes to fill -- and trip over.

TheWrap.com is reporting that, after a long and winding saga of casting calls and budget issues, Andy Samberg and Johnny Knoxville, along with Australian Shane Jacobson, are the leading candidates to play the iconic early 20th century comedians in a 'The Three Stooges' film.

If all goes down as planned, 'Jackass' star Knoxville would take the lead as Moe, while 'SNL' and Lonely Island man Samberg would play Larry; Jacobson would take on Curly, the site said.

Getting to this point hasn't been easy. Originally, the movie was to be produced by MGM, but after bankruptcy, 20th Century Fox took over.

At one point, an older, star-studded cast was attached: Benicio Del Toro (Moe), Sean Penn (Larry) and Jim Carrey (Curly) were slotted to take the roles of the three slapstick brothers. Penn pulled out of the project in June, 2009, though his spokesman said at the time that if the project was pushed back, he would participate. Obviously, that latter part hasn't transpired.

Peter Farrelly, who co-write the script, is still at the helm to direct, and in December, Farrelly said:

"We'll make it with the best possible people. Our feeling is that no star is too big to audition and no matter who it is, we're going to have to see him in the role... You've got to be Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard, and that could be a major movie star or an unknown."

If this is the cast, he'll be going with two medium sized stars and one unknown.

The film, which Farrelly said will have, 'non-stop slapping," and be, "very respectful of who the stooges were," is set to have three, 27-minute parts, an homage to the way the original Stooges films were structured.

Comments

[Mantan]

11:28 PM on 02/16/2011

This is an awful idea.

[Kevin Dame]

07:28 AM on 01/11/2011

Because Hollywood has done so well with ALL the re-hashings they've done over the past few years. The new Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Sherlock Holmes, Clash of the Titans, the Karate Kid, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Hulk, and Godzilla to name a few.

All these movies tried so hard to be what their predecessors were and failed miserably. Why can't we just leave the classics alone and come up with NEW ideas? By digging up old ideas and re-packaging them with 3D and CGI special effects it cheapens the original. No blockbuster movie should ever be re-made or re-booted, same goes for video games. Make a prequel or maybe a sequel, but don't take the original and "modern-ify" it for the sake of not having to come up with an original thought.

Is the font of creativity really that dry anymore?

[tweak scratch]

05:37 PM on 01/10/2011

Can't be replaced but...

Robert de niro - moe
Joe pesci - larry
Chris farley - curly :(...

[MrDark1]

05:00 PM on 01/10/2011

You can NEVER capture the genius of The Three Stooges without the original actors.
They had imitators even during their time that never came close to these true original
screen icons. Their act was polished through Vaudeville, and stage tours, early films, to the classic shorts that show today. You can not take any actor, and plop them in a film to mimic these routines, for the timing and the dance will be off. You can't replace a life time of original Stooge experience with new actors doing these, all but patented, slapstick antics-it will not ring true.

I read earlier that someone thought the Stooge heirs, or families should stop this. Well, they are the ones who are doing this. For without their o-k, it could not be done. The heirs of "Curly Jo" DeRrita, the last of the original Curly replacement actors, controls the Stooges estates, and the production company that he, Moe, and Larry created in the 60's, Comedy III Productions. The DeRita's run the company, from a court ruling, though all surviving Stooge family members share in the continued licensing, and profits from their famous clown heritages. As a whole, I believe they are all behind this new film venture. A very hard act to follow.

[Jerome Morrow]

04:11 PM on 01/10/2011

If it was a bio film, that would be awesome. But just doing some new "three stooges" mini movies seems kinda lame...

[angrymanspokane]

04:08 PM on 01/10/2011

The brother on "S*&^ My Dad Says" would be the ultimate Curly - they could be twins!

[TheAdultintheRoom]

03:34 PM on 01/10/2011

Don't ruin "The Stooges". I still roar when I see them on old film.
My kids and I laughed like hyenas the last time we watched them.
And they are in their 20's.

[LCDTV]

03:02 PM on 01/10/2011

this is going to be awful. no reason for a remake. nothing like the ordinal. if i want to watch the stooges i would tune to AE or TMC or one of those cable stations that shows them consistently on saturday or sunday.
my daughters love them.

[PoliSci2008]

03:31 PM on 01/10/2011

After seeing the miserable remake of Sherlock Holmes, which lack the mental agility of the original movies due to all the high tech action scenes, I really do think this remake will be another flop smoothered in high tech actions. No funny jokes. No good story line. And no bio-depiction of the original actors behind the 3 Stoorges. Just slap-stick, action scences.

[lasjazzman]

01:55 PM on 01/10/2011

I suggest Beck, Limbaugh and O'Reilly!!! I'd watch that!!!

[TexasDem0]

01:41 PM on 01/10/2011

I don't know about Curly and Moe, but recently I saw someone at the VA clinic who was a dead ringer for Larry Fine.

[baldguy]

01:19 PM on 01/10/2011

Jesus H Christ, is nothing sacred? LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Atom Splitter]

01:04 PM on 01/10/2011

It can't be done. They're wasting their money trying to recreate or recapture The Three Stooges.

[Ed Feldman]

08:18 AM on 01/10/2011

Cruise, DeCaprio, and P.S.Hoffman. Let the Laughs Begin!

[Jamie Schler]

01:17 AM on 01/10/2011

I'll pull out my own old black & white videocassette of the real, the one and only, Three Stooges and enjoy an evening watching that rather than waste my time watching a pathetic attempt to recapture the chemistry and the brilliance of these great comedians. Why bother? They afraid no one likes black and white?

[dirtfreak]

12:22 PM on 01/10/2011

I agree 1000%. Nothing can beat the originals. By the way, they are available on DVD.

[Jerome Morrow]

04:12 PM on 01/10/2011

Videocassette?!

Wow, good on ya for not letting it go extinct. Um, I'll stick with DVD...

[Jamie Schler]

12:48 AM on 01/11/2011

Ha Ha Ha! Yeah videocassette. Bought it when my sons were small so they too could experience the Stooges and just never upgraded.

[rationalthought1]

01:12 AM on 01/10/2011

I think Sean Penn went to Hatti to get out of playing Larry Fine. I can't imagine anyone really wanting to portray the Three Stooges on film. They are so beloved and have been watched so many hundreds of times by their fans that anyone but the originals (who are unable to audition) will be very, very poor substitutes. Plus women seem to all hate the Stooges - so cut out half of the ticket buying public right there.