Jim and Ewan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N..well, you get the idea. Thanks to Jim Carrey Online, we now have our first official look at the happy couple in the black comedy, I Love You Phillip Morris. Elisabeth brought us a behind the scenes photo back in May, but in spite of the thrill of seeing Jim Carrey and Rodrigo Santoro dripping with sun-tan oil and Versace, I was a little disappointed that my favorite Scot was nowhere to be seen -- until now.

Morris was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who are also the guys responsible for the raunchy holiday offering Bad Santa. The script was based on the book by the same name from the Houston Chronicle crime reporter, Steve McVicker. Carrey stars as Steven Russell, a happily married con-man who finds himself falling in love with his cell-mate, Phillip Morris (as played by McGregor). Russell spent years defying the judicial system, and also spent most of his criminal career hopping in and out of prison through a variety of elaborate schemes. Russell even posed as his Morris' lawyer to get him switched to a closer prison. But it all came crashing down when in 1988, Russell was sentenced to 144 years in prison. Leslie Mann joined the cast back in April as Carrey's abandoned wife, and Santoro also stars as another of Carrey's paramours.

Even though plenty of actors still struggle with playing characters in same-sex relationships, without 'wimping' out all together (yes, I'm looking at you Will Smith). But like always, I think that McGregor will pull through just fine. As for Carrey? Now that's another question all together...what do you think?

I Love You Phillip Morris is scheduled to arrive in theaters in Spring, 2009

[Thanks: Coming Soon]

Before I get started, I just wanted to say that anyone who was undecided as to whether or not Knocked Up was sexist, probably wasn't really paying too close attention to Leslie Mann's performance. Mann's portrayal of a woman forced into being the bad cop because her husband isn't into the whole 'grown up' thing was one of the best things about that film. Now she's heading for another 'wronged wife' role, and The Hollywood Reporter announced that Mann has joined the cast of I Love You, Phillip Morris.

Phillip Morris is based on the true life story of Steven Russell (as played by Jim Carrey). Russell was a married family man whose criminal exploits landed him in the Texas prison system. While incarcerated, Russell fell in love with his cell mate, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). After Morris' release, Russell concocted a variety of bizarre escape attempts in hopes of reuniting with the love of his life.

Well, I guess if you are looking to cast an unlikely couple, then Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey would probably be at the top of the list. Variety reports that McGregor has signed to play the romantic lead opposite Jim Carrey in the black comedy, I Love You Philip Morris. The film centers on Steven Russell (Carrey), a Texas conman who fell in love with his cellmate, Phillip Morris (played by McGregor). The script is based on the true story of Russell and his various escape attempts to be with his true love. Some of the more elaborate attempts included "using a green pen and bucket of water to change his prison outfit into what appeared to be surgical scrubs, another time by faking his death from AIDS and signing his own death certificate". But all did not end well for the lovers and while Morris eventually made it out of prison, Russell managed to earn a 144 year sentence for his various escape attempts.

The film is the directorial debut of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who are best known as the writers of Bad Santa. Ficarra and Requa also wrote the script based off of crime reporter Steve Mcvicker's novel. The film is set to start production as soon as Carrey is finished with Robert Zemeckis' latest foray into motion capture, A Christmas Carol (where Carrey is set to play multiple parts). McGregor has already lined up the Hitchcock-inspired Number 13 and the big-screen version of I, Lucifer for 2008. Plus, he has just finished work on The List with Hugh Jackman -- now that's the on-screen couple I've been hoping for; but no such luck.

What do you do when your thriller of a movie based on one little insidious number, that isn't 13, falls flat? You have to become a gay inmate and lather yourself in some romantically dark comedy. Jim Carrey, fresh off The Number 23, has signed on to star in I Love You Phillip Morris. According to Variety, this is one in a heap of movies that Carrey is currently scheduling to wrap up before the SAG contract expires in a year. The Spotless Mind star will star as a conman who makes a number of prison escapes for the love of a cellmate.

The story is actually based on a true crime book by Steve McVicker, a Houston Chronicle crime reporter. As Variety describes it, Carrey is Steven Russell, a married dad who finds himself jailed in Texas. Unfortunately, he falls head over heels with his cellmate, who is inconveniently released before he is. This motivates Carrey's character to escape from the prison four times in pursuit of his love. But the story's quirks make things more interesting. It seems that the real Russell escaped each time on Friday the thirteenth (oh, Carrey and his superstition!), outwitting his captors each time. Once, he waved a walkie-talkie at a guard and walked right out. Another, he made a pair of scrubs with a green pen and water to walk out. With pranks like these, it seems right up Jim's alley to me.

The adaptation is coming from the guys behind Cats & Dogs, Bad Santa and The Bad News Bears -- John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. If this is anything like their Santa work, which it seems to be, this whole crazy love story should work well. Morris will also mark the pair's directorial debut, which should make things a bit more interesting. It was pitched in Cannes as a Catch Me if You Can meets Brokeback Mountain, and Luc Besson's Europacorp is about to close a financing deal for under $20 million. That's not much, but what do you really need for a prison romance?