Will Sasso ($h*! My Dad Says) joined the endless casting discussion surrounding The Three Stooges earlier this week.  Yet unlike other Stooges reports, it actually led to something substantial.  THR reports that Sasso is the first official Stooge -- the bald, rotund actor will obviously play Curly for the directing Farrelly Brothers.Filming was once scheduled to begin in March, so at some point 20th Century Fox needs to stop the revolving door and hire a Moe and a Larry.  Hank Azaria (Love and Other Drugs) and James Marsden (Death at a Funeral) are the latest actors to be linked to the role, but I don't recommend you let that register until a more official report.  More about the project after the break.The plan is to separate the movie into three 27-minute shorts driven PG-friendly physical comedy.  Peter Farrelly told Deadline:

"There will be non-stop slapping, more in the tone of Dumb and Dumber than anything else we've done. Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of who 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."

Farrelly elaborated on the variety of actors that he and brother Bobby have spoken with:

"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 Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard, and that could be a major movie star or an unknown."

I remember the buzz of excitement when it was announced that Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, and Jim Carrey would play Moe, Larry, and Curly.  I'm sure Sasso will make a fine Curly, but I hope you'll forgive me if I am not quite so excited about a comedian who toiled for five seasons on MadTV.

Discussion question: As properties go, is The Three Stooges really that different from The Flintstones?