Update: Richard Simmons says he did not give permission for Pauly Shore to play him in The Court Jester

Last Updated on January 24, 2024

Update: It doesn’t seem as though Richard Simmons is a fan of Pauly Shore playing him in The Court Jester. The reclusive fitness guru surfaced on Facebook to disavow the movie. “Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read.” Simmons wrote. “I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support.“

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Comedian Pauly Shore is ready to show the world a different side of himself. As his fans on social media and YouTube have pointed out to him, he bears a resemblance to fitness guru Richard Simmons. Simmons himself resides with Pauly in a certain sect of pop culture in the 90s as both soared to fame in their respective areas but with a niche audience. Shore not only agreed with his fans’ assessment but he feels a deeper connection to Simmons, “I am him. I like helping people. I like health. I like putting that energy out there.[…] And I’ve been going to the gym since I was a kid. And I think I’m a little over the top as well, so I feel like I connect with him.”

Shore has now partnered up with Jake Lewis, who helmed the viral Robin Williams biopic pitch featuring the spot-on Jamie Costa. The two are now developing a Richard Simmons biopic with Shore in the role which will be produced by Mark Wolper’s Oscar- and Emmy-winning production company, the Wolper Organization (a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment). Shore and Lewis have already shot a short film, The Court Jester, which will be a preview of the feature-length film they are hoping to make this year.

Simmons is not currently associated with the project. However, Shore hopes that when he sees what they do with the project, he’ll decide to participate, “My attitude is: If we build it, he’ll come. That’s my hope. My hope is that he sees that it looks good, it feels good, it’s right. And then he might just say, f— it at some point — ‘I’m down. I’ll help you guys, I’ll be part of it, and I’ll hold your hand.’ We’ll all hold each other’s hands and we’ll work together. Richard Simmons was a very, very, very special man, and he had a huge message. And I think that message now is even bigger than it was back then. I just do. With mental health and obesity and people not taking care of themselves — and he always had a really fun way and he made people feel comfortable.”

Shore also shares what he wants to explore with his story and performance, “Once we start to peel off the layers of who this guy was, it’ll be interesting what we discover. I know he was bullied a lot because he was chubby — that was a big deal, and that was probably part of his motivation and his reasoning to get in shape. But again, we’re just scratching the surface right now as far as the story.”

The short will premiere at Sundance. Entertainment Weekly has the exclusive first-look images and teaser.