'I love what he represents, which is why we want to do it,' the actor told paparazzi on Thursday.
Pauly Shore is reacting to Richard Simmons' disapproval of his new project. Paparazzi caught the 55-year-old actor when he arrived at Salt Lake City International Airport on Thursday, and he spoke out about the fitness guru not endorsing The Court Jester, the Shore-led short film that's set to premiere at Sundance Film Festival on Friday.
"Every day is a different day. You never know what he's going to say the next day," Shore told the paparazzi. "I love Richard. I'm kind of just feeding off the people online about the whole thing, you know what I'm saying? Because everyone is saying that I look like him, so I wanted to play him. Does that make sense?"
Shore, who's also set to star as Simmons in an unrelated feature film, added that he's not coming "from a vindictive place" with the project, noting, "My whole attitude, I think, is if you build it they'll come."
"I hope that once he sees the short and he sees what we're wanting to do with it that he'll change his tune," he said. "I love him. I love what he represents, which is why we want to do it. He's such a great character and it'd be a good opportunity for me to get back out there as well. People miss me and they miss him."
Shore previously released a statement about playing Simmons, saying. "I'm really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’ life with the world. We all need this biopic now more than ever."
"Simmons represented mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self!" he said. "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."
Shortly thereafter, though, Simmons' rep told ET, "Richard and I are not endorsing this project. It is unauthorized. I spoke to Pauly last year and told him [Richard] is not ready to tell his story."
A post to Simmons' verified Facebook account on Wednesday also posted about Shore's projects, writing, "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. 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. Richard."
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