When the Three Stooges trailer premiered, it was met with howls of derisive laughter. Slapstick in our day and age is not the preferred mode of comedy, and the appearance of the Jersey Shore cast made it seem like a disaster. But now word is out, and actually, the Farrelly Brother’s The Three Stooges movie is good. And it’s fully committed to the source material, which means it’s stupid, but engagingly so. Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos star as Larry, Curly and Moe in the update, and our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

We’ve got a few casting stories to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Kevin Hart is joining Kevin James in the comedy Valet Guys.
• Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) joins the cast of Grown Ups 2.
• SNL cast member Taran Killam has joined Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years a Slave.
• Chris Diamantopoulos has been added to Empire State alongside Dwayne Johnson and Liam Hemsworth.

Hit the jump for more on each casting addition.

Faithfulness to source material can be a double-edged sword.  When the faithfulness arises not out of fear of angering a fanbase, but from the love of the filmmakers for the material, then at the very least you have something good-hearted and genuine.  But faithfulness can also be a crutch and impediment to creativity.  The Farrell Brothers have a difficult time in striking the balance between good-hearted humor and slavish devotion in their adaptation of The Three Stooges.  They keep the eponymous characters as lovable misfits, and when they’re playing to the characters’ stupidity, the Farrellys have an enjoyable comedy on their hands.  But when they also lean far too much on Moe slapping around his brothers and Curly’s various tics, The Three Stooges becomes a movie that will only appeal to kids.

After being left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, newborns Moe, Larry and Curly grow up under the tutelage of Mother Superior (Jane Lynch), Sister Mary-Mengele (Larry David) and Sister Rosemary (Jennifer Hudson) in The Three Stooges. Now adults (and played by Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso), they set out to save their childhood home, but quickly become embroiled in an oddball murder plot (at the hands of Sofia Vergara and Craig Bierko), with all of the pratfalls and slapstick comedy that they’re famous for.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Chris Diamantopoulos talked about what it was like to embody Moe, how he got the role after a four-and-a-half-month-long auditioning process, the moment when he felt like he had really found the character, his most memorable moment on set as The Stooges, how he dislocated his shoulder and broke a finger doing their various pratfalls, what made filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly the right guys to bring The Three Stooges back to life, and the two hours of deleted bits that could end up on the DVD.  He also talked about his role on the NBC comedy series Up All Night (starring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph), who he plays in the heist comedy The Black Marks (with Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon), and how he would love to do a James Bond type of action-drama.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Six new clips from The Three Stooges have gone online.  Yes, the movie looks terrible, but it also looks like it’s staying true to the source material.  The problem is that staying true to the source material and then trying to transport it into a modern setting doesn’t look like it will work.  There’s also the argument that the movie is for kids, who will enjoy the slapstick and goofy sound effects.  Unfortunately, there probably aren’t a lot of kids who are die-hard fans of a 1930s comedy trio.  It all comes back to “Who is this movie for?” and I don’t have a good answer.  But I will say this: Fox is screening the movie for critics, and despite the cringe-worthy trailers and clips, I’ll do my best to give the movie a fair shake when I see it in its entirety.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film stars Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Hudson, Sofia Vergara, Craig Bierko, Stephen Collins, and Larry David.  The Three Stooges opens April 13th.

Fox has released a new trailer for The Three Stooges.  The trailer tries to bill Larry (Sean Hayes), Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), and Curly (Will Sasso) as the original “Jackasses”.  It is like a Jackass if Jackass were fake, family friendly, and featured goofy sound effects to accompany the slapstick.  Directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly have clearly paid a loving tribute to the Stooges, but this trailer and the previous one show that the Stooges’ humor isn’t going to translate to modern audiences.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch, and Larry David.  The Three Stooges opens April 13th.

Fox has released the first trailer for The Three Stooges, directed by the Farrelly Brothers.  Will Sasso, Sean Hayes, and Chris Diamantopoulos star as Curly, Moe, and Larry in the new feature, divided into three segments.  It looks awful, but in a fascinating way.  This has been a passion project for the Farrellys and the final result makes me wonder: could The Three Stooges ever work in the present day?  Doesn’t their slapstick seem quaint while their antics come off as obnoxious?  And yet there’s also something mean-spirited mixed in.  I’m sure the Farrellys thought, “Hey!  Let’s poke Snooki in the eyes!  That will put the audience on our side!”  I almost feel sorry for Snooki.  Almost.

The film also stars Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Hudson, and Larry David.  The Three Stooges opens on April 4, 2012.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

A couple weeks ago, we showed you a couple glimpses of The Farrelly Brothers‘ The Three Stooges.  USA Today has now provided the first full look at Curly (Will Sasso), Larry (Sean Hayes) and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos).  Sasso looks like Sasso, but Hayes and Diamantopoulos have definitely been transformed into their characters.  For those unfamiliar with the project, The Three Stooges isn’t a biopic or even one full narrative, but instead it stay true to the original shorts by having the film divided into three segments.  And even though the Farrelly Brothers have made their names on gross-out PG-13 and R-rated comedies, they have promised to keep this movie PG.  I can’t doubt the Farrellys devotion and admiration for The Three Stooges and hopefully that will translate to a movie that honors the characters and provides plenty of laughs.

Hit the jump to check out the full image.  The film also stars Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Hudson, and Larry David.  The Three Stooges opens April 4, 2012.

The Farrelly Brothers’ almost have almost reached the finish line with their long-in-development passion-project, an adaptation of The Three Stooges.  The project was once a big-budget affair with Jim Carrey, Sean Penn, and Benecio Del Toro set to play the titular knuckleheads.  Then the project fell apart and looked pretty much dead until the Farrellys were able to resurrect it with far less expensive actors.  The movie now stars Sean Hayes as Larry, Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, and Will Sasso as Curly, and we now have a glimpse of the actors in character (above) plus a silhouette poster bearing the tagline “Just Say Moe.”  You can’t really go wrong with a pun based on an outdated anti-drug slogan.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The film also stars Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Hudson, and Larry David.  The Three Stooges opens April 4, 2012.

With filming underway in Atlanta on the Farrelly Brothers Three Stooges movie, the other day we posted our first look at Larry (Sean Hayes) and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos) on set.  However, we now have a much better look at Hayes as Larry.  If there was anyone who doubted that Hayes looked like Larry, this picture will silence the naysayers.  However, we still don’t know how he’ll play the character, but I’ve always thought Hayes was an underrated actor, and I think he’s going to nail it.

The Three Stooges will be comprised of three 27-minute segments (just like the originals), the first of which see them as children raising all kinds of hell in an orphanage.  Hit the jump for a better picture.

New set photos from Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages and the Farrelly Brothers’ The Three Stooges have gone online.  The photos from Rock of Ages show romantic leads Julianne Hough and Diego Gonzalez Boneta having a fun 80s time as they rollerblade down the boulevard.  The musical also stars Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Bryan Cranston, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

As for The Three Stooges, we have a good look at Larry (Sean Hayes) and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos) but Curly (Will Sasso) has his back turned to the camera.  If you can’t imagine what Will Sasso looks like bald, Google “Will Sasso” and you won’t have to use your imagination.  Co-star Sofia Vergara also tweeted some pictures of herself looking a little worse for wear, but it’s Sofia Vergara.  A few fake bruises don’t make her look any less gorgeous.  Hit the jump to check out all of the set photos.  Rock of Ages is set for June 1, 2012 while The Three Stooges is due out sometime in 2012.

The Farrelly Brothers-helmed The Three Stooges continues to take shape as both Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man) and Chris Diamantopoulos (Fox’s 24) have officially joined the film’s cast. Deadline reports that Bierko will play the role of Mac, “one of the heavies trying to exploit the Stooges,” whereas Diamantopoulos has officially signed on to play Moe. In addition to Bierko and Diamanatopoulos, The Three Stooges also stars Will Sasso as Curly, Sean Hayes as Larry, Jane Lynch, and Larry David. 20th Century Fox is looking to begin production on The Three Stooges later this month.

A frontrunner has emerged in the Farrelly brothers’ search for the right actor to play Moe in their Three Stooges movie. Apparently Chris Diamantopoulos (TV’s 24) is at the top of their list, after going through a rigorous casting process in order to find the perfect fit. Variety reports that Diamantopoulos is number one on their list to join Will Sasso as Curly and Sean Hayes as Larry. Sofia Vergara is also in talks for a leading role.

The Farrelly brothers have been trying to fill out this cast for some time now, after going through some very public cycles (Jim Carrey, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro were initially set to star). The film will not be a biopic, but rather a feature-length Three Stooges movie divided into “three 27 minutes segments, driven by physical comedy.” 20^th Century Fox hopes to get production started sometime this spring.