Pauly Shore Refuses to Stop Richard Simmons Biopic Despite Family's Disapproval

'Son in Law' star Pauly Shore plans to make a biopic of Richard Simmons' life without the approval of Simmons' family.

By Stephen Andrew

Pauly Shore is still full steam ahead with his planned Richard Simmons biopic. Despite Simmons' family's disapproval — as well as multiple public statements of denouncement from Simmons himself, prior to his death — Shore refuses to stop the development of the movie.

"I know he wanted me to do it," Shore told Entertainment Tonight earlier this week. "I don't even know if that was him tweeting [disapproval] the whole time, to be quite honest. I don't know who that was." Shore's implication seems to be that statements Simmons made on social media — stating that he did not give his permission for Shore to make a movie about his life — could have been written by someone on Simmons' staff or a family member, such as Simmons' brother, Lenny.

In response to the insinuation, Simmons's staff posted a statement on Simmons' X account (formerly Twitter), denying that anyone spoke for Simmons, and included an additional statement from Lenny. "Dicky absolutely wrote his own posts. He worked on them a week in advance, going over and over them to get the right message," wrote Lenny. "He would often read them to Cathy and I beforehand. What he has NOT done was to text, email or call Pauly with anything; not even to wish him 'Good Luck' as Pauly has stated many times."

Earlier this year, Shore announced his plans to make a movie about Simmon's life, after starring as the fitness guru in a short film titled The Court Jester, which premiered in January. Afterward, it was announced that the Encino Man actor is working on developing a full-length feature film biopic about Simmons' life and career. However, Simmons has made it clear that he does not "approve."

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"I just read that a man that I don't know is writing my bio pic starring Pauly Shore," Simmons wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), later adding that he's involved with the development of a separate film about his life. "I do not approve this movie. I am in talks with major studios to create my own bio pic with some help. Wait for this movie."

The pair had a bit of an indirect back-and-forth for the next few months, until Simmons' death in July. While he previously shared that he'd been diagnosed with cancer, at this time, Simmons' cause of death remains undisclosed and possibly unknown.

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