The interesting life and times of Donald Gould ‘The Homeless Piano Man’ have continued to attract the interest of entertainment enthusiasts worldwide, with producers optioning the biopic rights for a movie titled “Walk on Water,” based on the life of the viral piano player. In a related development, Producer Monte Robison, the owner of Austin-based Triple Pop, the record label that represents Gould’s recorded music, recently acquired movie biopic rights from Gould, who will also consult on the production.
“It’s an honor to have the trust to tell Donald’s story and the power of how music can change a life,” said Monte Robison, the producer behind the movie, said in a statement. “There’s so much more to his story.”
Donald Gould became famous following a YouTube video of him playing a street piano version of Styx’s ‘Come Sail Away’ which went viral on social media including Facebook. Multiple videos went viral worldwide amassing hundreds of million views. His destitute homeless appearance belied his extraordinary musical talent, generating further major media coverage, which led to a revelation of his incredible dramatic life story.
Prior to becoming homeless, Gould was a happily married Marine veteran, who played for the Marine Corps Band. The loving father became homeless after the death of his wife with his son taken away by social services at age three and adopted by another family. After years on the street, the videos made Gould famous and helped to turn his life around, eventually reuniting with his son.
The life story has been put into development under the title “Walk on Water,” which is also the name of Donald Gould’s debut studio album, with Mr. Robison’s affiliated production entity, Filmtheory, producing the movie adaptation.
Gould’s life story attracted offers to perform at major sporting events and he has further been covered in media such as Buzzfeed, Mashable, People Magazine, Washington Post and ABC News. Gould’s life story attracted offers to perform at major sporting events and he has further been covered in media such as Buzzfeed, Mashable, People Magazine, Washington Post and ABC News.
CBS’ Inside Edition covered Gould in multiple segments such as Marine Takes Your Breath Away Playing Piano and Homeless Piano Man Plays at NFL Game.
Gould’s fans cross generations from the young to the old, men and women, especially military veterans, single parents, and those that have suffered from substance abuse and unexpected loss.
“In recent years, we’ve been approached several times about Donald’s inspiring life story being made into a play or a movie,” said Monte Robison in a press release, “so we figured we should get the ball rolling. It’s a dramatic story of redemption and faith and the complications of homelessness.”
The producer is searching for financing and a screenwriter to adapt. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Triple Pop. Los Angeles-based producer rep, Sebastian Twardosz with Savant Artists, is shopping the project to agencies and financiers.
For more information about “Walk on Water” visit – www.triplepop.com.
About Triple Pop
Triple Pop is a full-service record label with A&R development, publishing, synch licensing and digital distribution worldwide. The label owns and distributes recordings by artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Iva Dawn, Whisper Suite, and Kris Farrow. Filmtheory produced the independent feature “Sorry, Thanks” (2009) starring Wiley Wiggins, Kenya Miles, and Andrew Bujalski.
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Website: http://www.triplepop.com