Because MGM is moving towards a more stable financial situation as a studio, 20th Century Fox is now able to announce a start date for its long-gestating comedy The Three Stooges, which will be directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. According to Deadline, the Farrelly brothers ten-years-in-the-making passion project will begin principle photography on March 14th.

The Farrelly brothers will be directing from a script that they wrote with long time collaborator Mike Cerrone. There is no cast in place at this time, as previously announced Stooges Jim Carrey and Sean Penn have dropped out. Benicio Del Toro, who was set to play Moe, may still appear. Casting will begin immediately.

The story begins with the stooges being dumped off at an orphanage as babies. Richard Jenkins is in talks to play the head of the orphanage, who is terrorized by the Stooges as they grow up. The Stooges will be followed through adulthood, where this blue-collar trio will act out against a wealthy society that aims to keep them down. The gags will arrive at a rapid-fire pace, and the structure of the jokes will adhere closely to the original short films upon which this comedy is based.

Peter Farrelly stated, "The script is ready to go, and we are opening up these roles to the world right now. 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. This is not The Flintstones. You've got to be Moe, Larry and Curly, and that could be a major movie star or an unknown. There will be non-stop slapping, more in the tone of Dumb and Dumber than anything. Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of whom the Stooges were. It's by far the riskiest project we've ever done, without question, but it is also the one closest to our hearts."

The movie will be split into three twenty-seven minute segments, which will allow the Farrelly brothers to use all three original The Three Stooges theme songs. It will be rated PG despite its strong physical comedy. The directors are hoping to shot in Atlanta.