Pauly Shore‘s performance as Richard Simmons is seeing the light of day, less than a week after plans for a feature film biopic were announced. A 10-minute short film starring Shore, titled “The Court Jester,” premiered at the Cabin in Park City on Friday. The event wasn’t an official Sundance Film Festival screening, but was certainly positioned to draw in festivalgoers.
“The Court Jester” is now available to watch online through the Lewis Brothers’ YouTube channel. A second screening at the Cabin is set for Jan. 22. The director, Jake Lewis, went viral with his Robin Williams impersonation. It stars Jesse Heiman, best known as a conspicuous extra who has appeared in films like “Spider-Man,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Social Network.” Heiman plays a segment producer who partners with Simmons amid backstage drama at a talk show.
“I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world. We all need this biopic now more than ever,” Shore said in a statement. “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.”
A still untitled Richard Simmons feature starring Shore is still in the works from The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Casting. Wolper is not involved with “The Court Jester” though.
Simmons has disavowed the project, sharing that he had not given permission for the project in a Facebook post.
“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,” Simmons wrote. “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.”
Watch the short film below.
