Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro circling Three Stooges roles

MGM and the Farrelly brothers are close to casting The Three Stooges film, according to Variety. Sean Penn is already attached to play “Larry” Fine, and the studio is negotiating with Jim Carrey to play Curly, and with Benicio Del Toro to play “Moe” Howard. According to the report, Carrey is already making plans to gain 40 pounds to approximate the weight of Jerome “Curly” Howard.

The film is not described as a biopic, but rather a comedy based on the antics of the three iconic characters that the comedians played in a series of Columbia Pictures shorts.

Production is scheduled to start this fall for a 2010 release. Project will commence after Penn completes the Asger Leth crime drama Cartel. The Farrellys also wrote the script for the project.