Pauly Shore on playing Richard Simmons: ‘There’s no reason I can’t get’ an Oscar
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What to expect for Saturday, Jan. 20
The acquisitions market at Sundance hasn’t come to a boil yet, with Sony Pictures Classics’ pickup of “Kneecap,” writer-director Rich Peppiatt’s biopic of the Irish-speaking Belfast rap trio, the most notable sale so far. Still, it’s early days, and the crowds — including the long line for entry into the Macro Lodge for its highly anticipated late-night party — support the notion of a post-strike bounce, this despite a feature film lineup with 30 fewer titles than 2023.
The Times had a front-row (OK, third-row) seat to the guerrilla energy Sundance is still capable of generating Friday night at the off-program screening of Pauly Shore’s Richard Simmons short, “The Court Jester.” Read on to hear what Shore had to say in our post-screening interview, plus recommendations for what to see and do in Park City, Utah, on Saturday.
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The movies worth standing in line for
“Presence” (9 a.m., Egyptian Theatre)
Call it Steven Soderbergh’s “Paranormal Activity” if you must, but that undersells the special brand of invention on display here. Captured with an athletic, vaulting camera (operated, as always, by the director himself, using the name Peter Andrews), “Presence” is a first-person ghost story, a style that’s established within seconds as we float, “Shining”-like, through the empty rooms of a house for sale. It’s ominous, yes, but curious and thoughtful, too: a channeling of the restless spirit (sorry) of author Shirley Jackson. Into this haunted space comes a family already grappling with problems of its own: Mom (Lucy Liu) has a bit of corporate malfeasance she’s trying to delete; Dad (Chris Sullivan) is at his wits’ end; and teenage daughter Callina Liang can’t shake the memory of her dead friend Nadia. Drugs and various bad decisions infuse the plot with a horror that’s all too real, but this one’s too fun to miss. —Joshua Rothkopf
“The Outrun” (6 p.m., Redstone Cinemas 2)
It may seem weird to say that a four-time Oscar nominee who hasn’t even turned 30 yet is “back,” but such are the great expectations placed on Saoirse Ronan. After a string of preternatural deep dives (“Brooklyn,” “Lady Bird,” “Little Women”) and a brief phase of transitional exploration, the actor has re-emerged with one of the most confident turns of her career as Rona, the troubled soul at the heart of “The Outrun.” Alternating between London, site for self-destructive drinking, and coastal Scotland, where an isolated recovery begins, the story fondles the frayed ends of an interrupted life, Ronan summoning a level of thoughtfulness that’s rare for most (not her). The movie comes from a 2016 memoir by Amy Liptot, who survived her own wild years, and is sensitively shaped by director Nora Fingscheidt. But your eyes won’t stray from Ronan, cementing her status as a new Gena Rowlands. —Joshua Rothkopf
WATCH: Saoirse Ronan, Nora Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot discuss their film “The Outrun”
Movers and shakers from around the fest
“Where is Pauly Shore?”
As the story goes, “The Court Jester” — a 10-minute short about Richard Simmons on the set of “Ellen” from filmmaker Jake Lewis — landed at the Sundance Film Festival in answer to that question. Well, not at, if we’re being precise. During. The film, starring Shore as the colorful fitness guru, played to raucous applause in the basement of the Cabin nightclub Friday night, its icy-cold, brick-lined bullring of a dance floor laid out with six rows of black metal chairs.
Depicting Simmons as he befriends an overlooked segment producer on “Ellen” amid the press tour for “Sweatin’ to the Oldies 5,” the short is a prelude to a planned feature-length biopic of the reclusive aerobics instructor, who has disavowed any involvement in the project. Which is a shame, Shore admits, though he hopes the work itself may persuade him otherwise.
“Hopefully, Richard Simmons will see we did not make fun of him,” Shore said, noting that the short would be available to stream on Lewis’ YouTube page Saturday. “We treated him with the utmost respect.”
Likening the role to that of Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” and Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler,” Shore sees the Simmons biopic, which is produced by the Wolper Organization and currently searching for a writer, as a comeback vehicle: As he said to the crowd during an introduction-cum-standup set preceding the screening, “There’s no reason I can’t get a f— Oscar.”
After “The Court Jester” rolled, I caught up with the “Encino Man” and “Bio-Dome” star, wearing a Pepto-pink hoodie under a dark winter coat, in the empty back bar at the Cabin. —Matt Brennan
What to you is the most interesting thing about Richard Simmons, coming at him as an actor?
His selflessness. It was always about helping people. When you watched him, he felt very sincere when it came to helping overweight people or people that had mental issues... And he was also very silly and funny and goofy and didn’t take himself serious. You always hear these kinds of self-help people, but they’re very serious, there’s nothing really funny about him. And he was f— hilarious. You know what I mean? Just wacky. If you were watching Letterman and they’re like, “Up next, Richard Simmons,” you weren’t changing the channel. Like, you knew for sure it was gonna be fun.
When you were getting into character for the short, was there a particular thing like, the hair, or the tank, or watching a particular clip that really helped you connect?
At the end of the day, it’s always about the script and the story. So I thought the fact that they had this overweight kid, that was a fumbling [producer] and then I save him at the end — I just really think it was about this particular story.
Do you have a vision for what you want the final script of the feature to look like?
You see so many biopics like the Elton John one [“Rocketman”] and the Freddie Mercury one [“Bohemian Rhapsody”] and all these are unbelievable. I’m like, “Wow.” I haven’t seen that Weird Al one [“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”] but I heard it’s really great. And “I, Tonya,” and all these different ones. So for this, I want it to be more dramatic than silly... I think it should be like, sweet and soft and sincere. You’re gonna have the crazy moments, but it shouldn’t be a goof fest. “Little Miss Sunshine,” a tone like that, is sort of the vibe. That’s what I’m feeling.
How did it feel when Simmons made that post saying, “I had nothing to do with this”? And what would you like to say to him if you had the opportunity?
I think he’s in a place right now where that’s a knee-jerk reaction, and I think that if he sat down with me and the producer he’d want to be part of it. But the good part about the business is, there’s a lot of unauthorized biopics. There’s actually more unauthorized biopics than authorized biopics. But at the end of the day, and again, I’ve said this 100 times, I’m not coming at it in a vindictive way. I’m coming out in a very sincere, authentic, sweet way, which is why I think this is going to work. At some point, I think he’ll come around.
What would you say is the biggest thing you have in common with Simmons, as you understand him?
I think that one thing that we have in common is our flamboyance and our explosiveness and our craziness and our silliness — and our heart. I think we care about people... I’ve been touring for 30 years and I sell out shows, not so much because, “Oh, they saw my Netflix special, or they saw this funny thing.” People connect with me, and all my films have always had a lot of heart.
Where you’ll find us in Park City today
Sundance’s comradely atmosphere isn’t usually associated with rumors and nastiness, but “Real Housewives” die hards like yours truly will happily make an exception for “Salt Lake City” star — and Park City business owner — Meredith Marks, whose, uh, elaborate pronunciation of the phrase became just one of many, many memes from the Bravo reality show’s recently concluded fourth season. Marks will be celebrating GLAAD and its work on behalf of the LGBTQ community at her boutique (511 Main St.) from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Just don’t get caught in disguise.
Earlier in the day, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Project Blackbird, an innovative live touring event that combines a film screening, post-screening conversation and journaling exercise, will hold a forum on mental health in film. Held at the Box at the Ray (1768 Park Ave.) from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the event features panelists Lux Pascal (“Bust”), Dewayne Perkins (“The Blackening”), Liz Cardenas (“A Ghost Story”) and Latavia Young (“Grace”) discussing narrative film as a tool for understanding mental health in underserved communities, moderated by Sundance Institute’s manager, equity, impact, and belonging, Moi Santos. There will also be a screening of writer-director Morgan Davies’ “Blackbird,” about a Black teenager in recovery for bulimia and her roommate at an eating disorder treatment center, followed by a talk-back with Davies, producer Alexandra Miles, actor Regina Bryant and producer Ramfis Myrthil (“Cicada”), moderated by producer Mikail Chowdhury.
Afterward, you’ll have plenty of time to mosey over to the Acura House of Energy (550 Swede Alley) for WIF‘s panel “Independent Women: How Indie Filmmakers are Bringing Transformative Approaches to Hollywood,” with Sydney Freeland (“Echo”), Ally Pankiw (“Feel Good,” “Black Mirror”), Lana Wilson (“Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby”) and Fawzia Mirza (Toronto International Film Festival favorite “Queen of My Dreams”). The conversation, moderated by WIF CEO Kirsten Schaffer, runs 3-3:45 p.m. —Matt Brennan
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Highlights from L.A. Times Studios
The L.A. Times Studios at Sundance are underway, and we’ll be sharing our favorite photos and videos from our space at 580 Main St. with you in each Sundance Daily edition of the Wide Shot. Be sure to check out all of our portraits of Hollywood stars at the festival in our updating photo gallery, and find full coverage of the festival at our Sundance landing page.
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