Pauly Shore is ready to sweat for the role of a lifetime.
The comedian portrays fitness guru Richard Simmons in the new short film “The Court Jester,” set to debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. A teaser for the project dropped on Wednesday, featuring Shore sporting the icon’s famous wardrobe of short shorts and a tank top.
And it may not be his only chance to step into the character.
An unrelated feature-length biopic on Simmons, also starring Shore, is reportedly in development and the actor explained in a new Instagram video how he hopes fan response to “The Court Jester” will only keep the momentum going.
Shore went on to share his excitement in a statement to multiple media outlets, praising the potential biopic as something “we all need … now more than ever” given Simmons’ legacy of positive energy.
“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,” Shore’s statement read in part.
Though Simmons himself has said through a representative and in a rare social media post that he did not authorize the movie itself, Shore told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview that he has expressed support for him personally.
“His people responded and they said that he loves me and he loves my mom [legendary Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore] and the Store and all that stuff, but at this time he just wants to lay low and not really be involved,” Shore noted to the mag.
“The Court Jester” premieres Friday, Jan. 19 at the Sundance Film Festival and will be available to stream on YouTube later that night.
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.