Richard Simmons Reportedly Did Not Give His Blessing to an Upcoming Biopic Starring Pauly Shore

Comedian Pauly Shore is set to star in a feature-length biopic about fitness personality Richard Simmons. The film, which is currently in development at the Warner Bros. subsidiary The Wolper Organization, follows a short film also starring Shore called The Court Jester, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah this week.

However, the reclusive Simmons, who hasn't been seen in public for a decade now, apparently did not give his blessing for either film.

TMZ spoke with a representative for the 75-year-old on Wednesday, who said that Shore's project is currently unauthorized, and said that his client may not even be aware that the film is in development at this point. The outlet additionally reports that Shore's team reached out to Simmons about portraying him in a film last year, but his people said the timing wasn't right to get him on board.

On Wednesday afternoon, Simmons himself likewise took to Facebook to clarify his lack of involvement in the film.

"Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore," he wrote. "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.," Simmons added, thanking fans for their love and support.

Interestingly enough, Shore had a somewhat different story in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, also published on Wednesday, when asked if he had been in touch with Simmons.

"His people responded and they said that he loves me and he loves my mom [Comedy Store co-founder Mitzi Shore] and the Store and all that stuff, but at this time he just wants to lay low and not really be involved," the 55-year-old explained. "That was his response. From there, I got approached by the Wolper Organization, who has a first-look deal over at Warner Bros [and] who have been wanting to do a Richard Simmons biopic—we have a shopping deal right now."

Be that as it may, Shore believes he is uniquely qualified to play Simmons due to the "inherent" qualities they both share, such as their respective styles being "very over the top and spontaneous."

"I am him," he said. "I like helping people. I like health. I like putting that energy out there. Through my mom and [The Comedy Store], she helped a lot of people and it kind of got passed down to me — I help comedians and people, and so I really relate to Richard. And I've been going to the gym since I was a kid. And I think I'm a little over the top as well, so I feel like I connect with him.

"And I've known him for years from back in the day. I started in the '90s," Shore added. "I used to always see him and I was always giving him hugs and high fives and stuff."

You can see the similarities in the teaser for The Court Jester, below.

"What's my first rule? Like yourself," Shore in the clip as Simmons. "Your weight doesn't matter. If you like yourself, you're gonna be fine. But I've been where you are right now. And where I am right now, I just love myself. Every part of myself. And I think I can show you how to get here."