Farrelly Brothers and The Three Stooges Together At Warner Bros. Pictures.

Entertainment Editors

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 2, 2001

Celebrated writing-producing-directing team Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the creative duo behind the hit comedies "There's Something About Mary," "Dumb & Dumber" and "Me, Myself & Irene," have signed a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to write and produce a feature film based on the characters from the legendary slapstick trio The Three Stooges.

The announcement of the deal was made today by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, president of Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

"When it comes to comedies, the Farrelly Brothers are a proven triple threat," di Bonaventura said. "We are incredibly lucky to have them bring their singular talents to an American icon, The Three Stooges. It doesn't get any better than to have the Farrelly Brothers and The Three Stooges together."

The Farrellys, along with their partner Bradley Thomas ("Me, Myself & Irene"), will produce through their production company, Conundrum Entertainment. The executive producers are Earl M. Benjamin and Robert N. Benjamin, the principals of C3 Entertainment Inc., which owns the rights to The Three Stooges characters, and George Paige, who brought the project to Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Attorney Robert Myman at Myman, Abell, Fineman, Greenspan & Light LLP, brokered the deal on behalf of C3 Entertainment Inc.

"There's no better creative force in film today than the Farrelly Brothers to bring a fresh approach to The Three Stooges and introduce them to generations of new fans," said Earl Benjamin, president of C3 Entertainment Inc.

The project will not be based on any one specific Stooges episode; instead, the Farrellys will write an original story for the characters based on the extensive Three Stooges property.

The Farrelly Brothers first came to national prominence with their blockbuster 1994 comedy "Dumb & Dumber," starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. They went on to write, produce and direct the Amish bowling farce "Kingpin"; the runaway box office smash "There's Something About Mary," starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon; and the summer 2000 hit "Me, Myself & Irene," starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger.

Through Conundrum Entertainment, the Farrellys recently produced and directed the upcoming live action/animation adventure comedy "Osmosis Jones," starring Bill Murray and featuring the voices of Chris Rock and Laurence Fishburne, as well as "Say It Isn't So," a comedy starring Chris Klein and Heather Graham. "Say It Isn't So" will be released on March 23; "Osmosis Jones" is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in summer 2001.

The Farrelly Brothers are currently prepping and producing two new films for Conundrum: "Shallow Hal," written and directed by the Farrellys, and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black; and "The Ringer," a comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, the host of MTV's "Jackass."

C3 Entertainment Inc. was founded as Comedy III Productions in 1959 by the famous comedy team The Three Stooges and is now a diversified entertainment company involved in television and motion picture production, retail and e-tail sales, and the licensing and merchandising of The Three Stooges.

For information on The Three Stooges project, contact Juli Goodwin, 818/954-6670, [e-mail].

For more information on C3 Entertainment Inc., contact Rachel Lusted, 818/502-8402, [e-mail].