Richard Simmons denounces his upcoming biopic starring Pauly Shore
The iconic fitness guru Richard Simmons has denounced the forthcoming biopic starring Pauly Shore as himself. Simmons claims the movie’s creators never attained permission to document his life.
As yet untitled, the proposed project is set to star Shore as Simmons in a celebration of the latter’s extraordinary life. Produced by Mark Wolper’s Oscar- and Emmy-winning company, the Wolper Organization, the feature is scheduled to shoot in summer 2024.
A separate short film titled The Court Jester, also starring Shore as Simmons is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19th, later to be distributed via YouTube. Directed by Jake Lewis, this short is said to be unrelated to The Wolper Organization’s proposed biopic.
“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,” Simmons wrote on Facebook after seeing the announcement earlier this week. “So don’t believe everything you read.”
“I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist,” he continued. “I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support.”
In a new statement to Variety, The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros, said: “While we would love to have [Simmons] involved, we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honours him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story.”
“We know he is deeply private and we would never want to invade that; however, he is an amazing person that changed millions of peoples’ lives, and the effect he has had on the world needs to be recognized,” they added.
Simmons launched to stardom in the 1980s after helming his popular fitness programme Sweatin’ to the Oldies. The televised aerobics classes tempted millions to begin home exercise routines thanks to Simmons’ charismatic and eccentric presence.
In 2014, the fitness fanatic vanished from public life, causing concern for his many fans. However, in 2016, Simmons resurfaced to quell such concerns, stating that he just wanted to shirk the limelight for some privacy. “No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” he told Today at the time.
Watch the trailer for The Court Jester below.
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