Pauly Shore’s upcoming short film, The Court Jester, is set to release on January 19, 2024. The film is a biopic based on the life of fitness icon Richard Simmons. Shore is starring as the lead, playing the role of Simmons, in the feature. The film bagged an official teaser on January 17, 2024, offering details on the storyline while revealing Shore’s look as Simmons.
From Pauly Shore in the lead to Jesse Heiman, The Court Jester has a talented ensemble cast.
The Court Jester will be available to watch on YouTube
Pauly Shore-starrer The Court Jester will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 9 pm MT. The first screening will be held at the Cabin in Park City, Utah, and the second screening will be held at 9 pm MT on Monday, January 22, 2024, at the same location.
As The Court Jester makes its Sundance debut, on the same night of January 19, the short film will globally premiere on YouTube. The film will be available on The Lewis Brothers channel, and viewers can watch it for free.
Talking about his role in the film, Pauly Shore said in a statement to Variety:
“I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world.”
He further said:
“We all need this biopic now more than ever. 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.”
Who is Richard Simmons?
Born on July 12, 1948, Milton Teagle ‘Richard” Simmons, aka Richard Simmons, is a fitness celebrity. Simons is known for promoting weight-loss programs through his aerobics videos titled Sweatin’ to the Oldies.
He appeared in talk shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Howard Stern Show, and Late Night With David Letterman.
Besides appearing in talk shows, Simmons also made guest appearances in popular game shows such as Body Language, Battlestars, Super Password, Match Game, Win, Lose or Draw, Hollywood Squares, and Nickelodeon's Figure It Out.
Richard Simmons responded to Pauly Shore playing the fitness icon. He wrote on X:
“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.”
He further wrote:
“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.”
Ensemble cast
In addition to Pauly Shore in the ensemble cast, The Court Jester also stars Tamara Brown, who is playing the role of television host and actress Ellen DeGeneres. The film also has Jesse Heiman, playing the role of a television producer named David, who lost 160 pounds.
Benji Aflao, Ronan Arthur, Alyce Saad, Jake Lewis, Austin Gelfman, Dawn Krantz, Michele Fried, Kore Black, and Cooper Shine are also part of the ensemble cast in supporting roles.
Jake Lewis will add his directorial vision to The Court Jester, having also penned the story for the biopic.
Alen Stubbs, Ehron Asher, Ronan Arthur, Emil Gurvin, and Steven Salisbury bankrolled the film under the banner of Blue Eyed Jack Productions. Max Ostroff, Jake Lewis, and Mark Waldman served as the executive producers.
Stay tuned to know more about The Court Jester as it makes its streaming debut on YouTube.