'Three Stooges' biopic closer to reality

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- It looks like the Farrelly brothers' long-delayed "Three Stooges" feature is going to happen and when it does, look for unknowns to take top billing.

Peter Farrelly told Zap2it.com negotiations with 20th Century Fox are taking a positive turn.

"We wrote the script like two or three years ago," Farrelly told the Web site. "It was the hardest script we ever wrote, because just the intrinsic nature of the Stooges, it's a lot of hitting. It's all about the hitting and it wears you down. It wears you out. If you watch an episode, you laugh your butt off. You watch a second, a little less. By the third episode, you're just tired. It's a lot of hitting."

After stars like George Clooney, Russell Crowe and Larry David passed on the project, the brothers decided to mount a nationwide talent search for the big screen Larry, Curly and Moe.

"I think we're going with unknowns, but I can't say for sure," Farrelly said. "I'll put it this way -- if Benicio Del Toro started twisting my arm, yeah, of course he's in it."