Adam Sandler and Kevin James are in negotiations to play firefighters who pretend to be a gay couple in Universal Pictures "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry."

"Wedding Crashers" helmer David Dobkin is attached to direct the long-gestating comedy, which is being produced by Shady Acres' Tom Shadyac and Michael Bostick and Happy Madison's Jack Giarraputo.

The firefighters in "Chuck and Larry" pose as a married gay couple in order to receive domestic partner benefits. Alexander Payne and James Taylor, the Oscar-winning team behind "Sideways" and "About Schmidt," have written the current draft of the screenplay based on a treatment by Lew Gallo.

The coming together of Sandler and James finally puts the project, which has been at the studio since the late 1990s, on the runway. A parade of writers including Gary Ross, Jon Favreau and Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel has hammered out drafts over the years, and various combinations of actors such as Will Smith and Nicolas Cage, Smith and James Gandolfini and Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson have flirted with the movie.

Sandler, repped by Endeavor and Brillstein-Grey, is set to start production on the Mike Binder-directed drama "Reign O'er Me" in the spring and will next be seen toplining the comedy "Click," which is due to open June 30.

James is best known for starring in CBS's long-running comedy "The King of Queens." His most recent big-screen appearance was in 2005's "Hitch," where he was cited for scene stealing. He is doing voice work in "Monster House" and "Barnyard." James is repped by Endeavor and Jeff Sussman Management.

Universal's president of production Donna Langley, senior vp production Holly Bario and creative executive Regina Lee will oversee the project for the studio.