After five years of waiting for confirmation to make the film, MGM has greenlit the Farrelly Brothers’ (Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, Stuck on You) request for a re-imagining of “The Three Stooges”.
The Farrellys are not only going to direct the film, but they will also be using a script they previously wrote with co-writer Michael Cerrone.
The Three Stooges has a November 2009 release date and has been given a $45 million budget along with a suggested rating of PG or PG-13.
The plot is said to have Moe and Larry holding an “American Idol”-like competition to find Curly. Mention of running several comedic shorts that will precede their full-length feature has also been established, being in the same vein as the original 1930s series.
Peter Farrelly explains:
“It’s not a biopic. It takes place in present day, and they look, dress and sound exactly like the Stooges. When the economy started turning, we felt like the world could use a Stooges slapfest… It’s the most exciting thing we could think of now, to have people go to the movie, see some great slapstick fun family humor. We know this is extremely difficult to pull off; we realize some Stooges fans will be upset no matter what we do. We love the Stooges and honor their memory, and we don’t want them to disappear. We hope that next Thanksgiving, dads will introduce their kids to the Stooges and create a new generation of knuckleheads.”
By Tessa Petrocco