The 75-year-old Richard Simmons has spoken out against the news of an upcoming biopic based on his life and career. Little is known about the film outside of the fact that it has been announced that Simmons will be played by 55-year-old comedian Pauly Shore. Despite Simmons’ statement, the film is still set to be produced.
Simmons spoke out against the news
Mere hours after it was announced that Pauly Shore would be playing him in an upcoming biopic, Richard Simmons made a statement speaking out against the film. Taking to Facebook, Simmons wrote, “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. 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.”
Simmons quickly became a household name during the 1980s thanks to his eccentric and energetic personality, promoting physical activity through his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” aerobics video series. He became so famous that he appeared as a featured guest on several talk shows, earning a large fan base. In 2014, Simmons pulled away from public life, worrying fans about his health and safety, but in 2016, he said in a phone interview that “no one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” he just prefers his privacy.
Shore is excited for the role
Despite the fitness guru speaking out against the film, lead actor Shore said he is thrilled to portray Simmons. “I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world,” he said. “We all need this biopic now more than ever. Simmons represented mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self! Whenever he was on TV you could never take your eyes off of him and he brought such a joy to his appearances that represented nothing but a good time.”
This still-unnamed biopic is not the first time Shore will play the role of Simmons. He also starred as the fitness guru in another film unrelated to the biopic titled “The Court Jester.”
The production company plans to honor Simmons
The Wolper Organization, the company producing the biopic, made a statement saying, “While we would love to have [Simmons] involved, we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story.” The statement continued saying, “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.”
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Mark Wolper said that the studio is in “serious discussions with a major writer” to develop the film, and they intend for it to take the tone of a “dramatic and heartfelt feature in the tone of ‘Little Miss Sunshine.'” He explained how “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.”