Johnny Knoxville, Andy Samberg, and Aussie actor Shane Jacobson on the shortlist for The Three Stooges

The long in-development THREE STOOGES feature film from The Farrelly Brothers has gone from out of left field A-Listers in the form of Jim Carrey, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn; to… well, possibly this.

TheWrap is reporting that Johnny Knoxville (JACKASS 3D), Andy Samberg (FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS), and Australian actor Shane Jacobson (KENNY) are on the shortlist to presumably play Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard respectively. And while this is not finalized casting by any means, it is a good indication of the direction Fox and the Farrellys will be taking with the film. In fact, names like these jibe with what Peter Farrelly said in a recent interview:

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

What’s slightly more interesting to me, though, is this bit that TheWrap reveals:

“The plan is to divide the PG-rated film into three, 27-minute segments driven by physical comedy, with a start date of March 14.”

PG? Three 27-minute segments? Whaaa?