The heated back-and-forth between Pauly Shore and Richard Simmons is purportedly over.
Shore agreed last year to portray the fitness guru if a biopic project should ever materialize, as fans had noticed a glaring likeness. On Wednesday, Shore confirmed it’s officially happening — and at first, Simmons reacted unfavorably.
But in a twist, Shore claimed in Park City, Utah, at a screening of his short film “The Court Jester” — a separate project in which he portrays the 1980s fitness icon — that Simmons has since completely changed his tune and even wished Shore well ahead of Friday’s screening.
“He texted me and he said, ‘Good luck tonight on the show,’” said Shore in audience footage obtained Saturday by TMZ.
Representatives for Shore and Simmons did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.
The saga between the two men began harmlessly when fans on social media urged Shore to portray Simmons in a film.
The “Bio-Dome” star said Wednesday it was finally underway, only for Simmons to respond.
“You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore,” Simmons wrote Wednesday on Facebook. “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,” he continued.
Simmons dominated the at-home fitness craze of the 1980s as the vivacious host of his own TV show, but ultimately vanished from the spotlight to confusion from lifelong fans.
While Shore had naturally been deflated by Simmons’ initial response, he’d stayed optimistic.
“Every day is a different day,” Shore said Thursday, per ET. “You never know what he’s going to say the next day. I love Richard. I’m kind of just feeding off the people online … (who said) that I look like him, so I wanted to play him.”
“I hope that once he sees the short and … what we’re wanting to do with it that he’ll change his tune,” Shore added. “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.”
Whether Jake Lewis, who directed the short, will return to produce the feature-length film remains mysterious.
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