Pauly Shore stayed up all night crying after Richard Simmons said he didn’t approve of biopic; Shore requests a meeting with Simmons

Actor Pauly Shore (The Encino Man) wrote on Instagram this weekend that he was “up all night crying” after the fitness guru Richard Simmons has continued to publicly distance himself from the biopic about his life that Shore is set to star in. Simmons even revealed on her social media platforms that she is talking to movie studios about making her own biopic.

Simmons posted earlier this week: “I just read that a man I don’t know is writing my biopic starring Pauly Shore. I don’t approve of this movie. I am in talks with major movie studios to create my own biopic with some help. Wait for this movie.

Shore’s Simmons biopic, in which the fitness icon is not involved, is now in development at the writer’s Warner Bros. subsidiary The Wolper Organization Jordan Allen-Dutton.

Shore responded:

“I stayed up all night crying about Richard Simmons’ tweet. Richard, how can you not approve of this movie? I mean, really, who better to play you in a movie than me? Leonardo DiCaprio won’t play you. Brad Pitt won’t play you. I am perfect. Everyone already thinks I’m you. We are equal.”

Shore reminded Simmons that he hasn’t “even heard the pitch” for Allen-Dutton’s biopic of him and asked if he might be interested in meeting so Shore can reveal some information about the movie he’s planning. He continued:

“I also heard the good news that you are in talks with studios to make a biopic about you. It’s amazing! The more movies about you, the better! You deserve it. Hundreds should be made. But as you know, many biopics are made without the subject agreeing to be a part of them: Elvis, Stephen Hawking, Marilyn Monroe, Steve Jobs and many, many more. Some of them turned out to be good, some turned out to be bad. Mine will turn out to be amazing balls.

News of Shore’s Simmons biopic broke in January. Simmons originally commented on the film in a Facebook post that said, “You may have heard they might make a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I never gave my permission for this film. So don’t believe everything you read.

Following the announcement, Shore traveled to the Sundance Film Festival to present the short film The court jester in Park City. The short film features Shore as Simmons. Shore said it Variety at a time when his Simmons movie is “all about love,” with or without Simmons’ actual blessing.

“He was never vindictive. I’m not Borat. I’m not the “let’s make fun of someone” type. Is the opposite. At this point these are unauthorized biopics and they are being made every day. Yes, I want him to put his pixie dust on it and say, “Go for it, Pauly.” We don’t want to bother him. We want him to be left alone and we don’t want to bother him. We want to pay homage to him, kiss his feet and say that he did beautiful things.

Shore added regarding his interest in playing Simmons in a biopic:

“I identify a lot with him. I saw an interview he did recently and he talks about how he’s on his own. He is secluded. He has no friends or family. He’s just lonely. He is similar to me right now. My parents are dead. My brothers, we don’t have a good relationship. I’m not married. When I’m on tour, America is very big… and then I come home and I’m alone. I definitely feel like I’m him. I feel like there’s a part of me that’s very similar.”

Shore said it Variety that his plan is to get the Simmons biopic off the ground and made as soon as possible. The film’s production company, The Wolper Organization, added their own statement after Simmons spoke out against the film which read:

“Although we would love to have it [Simmons] involved, we respect his desire for privacy and plan to produce a film that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story. We know he is deeply private and we would never want to invade him, however he is an extraordinary person who has changed the lives of millions of people and the effect he has had on the world must be recognised.

It seems that Simmons was simply sorry he wasn’t involved from the start. If he wants to make a biopic about his life, why not choose to collaborate with someone who already wants to play you, who looks like you and has great respect for you?

I hope it works out for both parties and that this movie goes forward and gets made with everyone on board.