‘American Idol’ Garbage Man Doug Kiker Stars as Himself in New Movie
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American Idol Season 18 featured an emotional audition from a singer named Doug Kiker. He shared that he worked as a garbage man and hoped to inspire his 2-year-old daughter by chasing his dreams. Now his story has inspired a movie due for online release.
‘American Idol’s Doug Kiker Stars in New Movie
Kiker didn’t make it past Hollywood Week during Season 18 of the show, but his story made an impact on viewers. It also inspired a movie called The Garbage Man, directed by Bobby Ray Hamilton. Kiker stars as himself in a fictionalized version of his American Idol journey.
A trailer for the film was released online last year, showing Kiker’s character competing in a talent show and seeming to get much farther than he did on Idol. Based on the scenes in the trailer, the movie definitely won’t be winning any awards.
It certainly doesn’t help that last May, Kiker was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence, also known as harassment, following a 911 call from an unnamed woman. Kiker remained quiet about the incident on social media afterward, instead asking fans to be extras in the movie.
SEE ALSO: ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ GARBAGE MAN DOUG KIKER BREAKS SOCIAL MEDIA SILENCE AFTER ARREST
When Will ‘The Garbage Man’ Be Released?
According to AL.com, the movie was set to premiere online January 15. Hamilton, the film’s director, said backers were “self-distributing” to project, adding, “We’ll have it available on Vimeo, but we’ll probably have it on some other multimedia sites, maybe Amazon, we’re working on it as we speak.”
Kiker was also scheduled to perform a concert on January 15 to celebrate the film’s release at Troubadours in Mobile, Alabama. He was set to appear with fellow music artists Rainy Day and Tearrah Nyree, who also appear in the movie.
Hamilton said the best place to find updates about the film is Kiker’s Facebook page. However, Kiker hasn’t posted anything about the project since the release date passed a few days ago, and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of the film on Vimeo.
In the meantime, Kiker has been promoting the music video for his new song “I’m Gonna Live.”
