It all started with an online observation when people on social media started making a visual connection between an 80s fitness icon and a 90s comedy actor whose star has faded in the last two decades.
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And somehow, that buzz has coalesced into an actual project that finds Pauly Shore portraying Richard Simmons in a short film called The Court Jester.
The film’s trailer has already been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in the 24 hours since it went live on YouTube, even though it offers precious little more than actual footage of Shore dressed and bewigged impeccably as the effervescent workout guru.
However, the film was apparently made without its main subject being onboard.
“Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore,” a message posted on Wednesday to Simmons’ verified Facebook account reads. “I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read.
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. Richard.”
“Richard and I are not endorsing this project,” Simmons’ rep also told ET in a statement on Wednesday. “It is unauthorized. I spoke to Pauly last year and told him [Richard] is not ready to tell his story.”
Shore meanwhile is also tied to a second, longer-form biopic that would find him playing Simmons, a man who he seems to be eager to portray.
“I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’ life with the world,” Shore said in a statement.
He also shared that excitement in a post to his Instagram page.
“I’ve noticed all the reactions to me playing #RichardSimmons in a new biopic,” Shore said. “So I reached out to him. I heard he’s living deep in Big Bear. We’ve been playing phone tag (yes, he still has a phone). I’m trying to make it happen for you guys. I definitely can morph into this guy. I’ll see you at the @theacademy 2025.”
Could Pauly Shore actually take home an Oscar for playing Richard Simmons? Stranger things have happened.
“There is an amazing, dramatic and uplifting story to tell about Richard Simmons,” reads a statement from Mark Wolper, whose Wolper Organization is developing the full-length feature on Simmons. “We have been dancing around the idea for years, but it never coalesced until several months ago when I saw the press about Pauly Shore being touted by social media as the ONLY person that could play Richard.”
“I saw the picture of them and realized these two are very similar, they both lived or died by how the world perceived them, they both fought to give their fans what they wanted and they both deserve an amazing comeback story!” Wolper continued. “My company has locked Pauly down to play Richard Simmons and we are in serious discussions with a major writer to develop this as a dramatic and heartfelt feature in the tone of ‘Little Miss Sunshine.'”
While that film is still in the works, it appears the short film attached to the new trailer, made for YouTube by the Lewis Brothers, is ready for public consumption. It will premiere Friday at the Sundance Film Festival.
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