MGM and the Farrelly brothers are finally slapping together their high-profile cast for “The Three Stooges,” a comedy project the filmmakers have been developing for years. Sean Penn is set to play Larry, and Jim Carrey is in negotiations to play Curly. Benicio Del Toro is a rumored possibility for their taciturn leader, Moe.

The studio is looking to start production in the fall for a 2010 release slot.
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Peter and Bobby Farrelly wrote the script, which Bobby has referenced as “Dumb, Dumber & Dumbest,” and will produce with Bradley Thomas and Charlie Wessler. Earl and Robert Benjamin of C3 will executive produce.

The film is not a biopic but a fictional treatment that maintains the Stooges’ gleeful slap schtick updated for a modern milieu.

Originally constructed as four separate shorts, the feature screenplay has since been streamlined into a single narrative. Included in the story line is an opening that shows the Stooges as kids in an orphanage, a device that will require some “Benjamin Button”-style visual trickery to place the adult actors’ heads on child actors’ bodies.

Give me Curly Joe over this combo!