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

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."

"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 .