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It’s not that long ago that I was pointing out the lack of great musical content on Netflix. I still reckon they could attract a big audience for more live music events.

On the other hand, the new documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin, coming soon to Netflix, might test the water again for a slightly different approach to music stories.

This newly released documentary, directed by Bernard MacMahon, well known for his music films including the excellent American Epic series from 2017, has been in the making for some time now. MacMahon spent over five years sifting through old footage and collating material.

It’s all about the story of becoming Led Zeppelin

An early and unfinished excerpt from it was shown at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 and went down a storm there. The final version made it to cinemas earlier this year and was well-received by fans. It’s...

There hasn’t been any shortage of music documentaries on big screens lately, but most are presented as special events that come in and out for one or two nights on a weekend, without settling in for a regular run. The Sony Classics release “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” though, has defied expectations of what a modern rock doc can do in cinemas, on its way to finding the favor of fans as a home video hit, too. Its success is, well, highly becoming.

Director Bernard MacMahon sat down with Variety to talk about the long process of making and then finding a buyer for the film, admitting there were plenty of companies that turned it down. The objections were plentiful, as he recalls it, when he and producer Allison McGourty were touring executive suites. But maybe most curious of all, to those who didn’t get the film, is that it...

In 2019, director Bernard MacMahon stood in front of film buyers at Cannes and discussed his love of Led Zeppelin. The director of a little-seen music documentary “American Epic,” he had been selected by the ’70s rock gods to tell their story in a rock-doc, something the collective of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and the late John Bonham had never before agreed to do. He had been entrusted with enormous responsibility by icons who had been particularly selective about their legacy. At the time, he didn’t even have footage to screen to the buyers.

Two years later, MacMahon’s film “Becoming Led Zeppelin” screened as a work-in-progress at Venice. The song remained the same; as IndieWire’s review suggested at the time, the film wasn’t ready for primetime, and it sat without a buyer. Sony Pictures Classics, which had been following the film from the beginning,...

January and February usually aren’t the most stacked for box office performance, but there are normally some underrated hits that shine through the cracks and earn more than expected. One of the biggest surprises at the start of the year has been Becoming Led Zeppelin, the documentary detailing the rise to stardom of the classic band. Becoming Led Zeppelin earned another $740,000 during its fourth full weekend in theaters, which was enough to push the film past the $10 million global mark. Most of Becoming Led Zeppelin’s box office earnings have come from domestic markets, where it has earned $8.6 million, but it has also added $1.5 million internationally to help it reach its new total. The film was written and directed by Bernard MacMahon with Allison McGourty also earning a writing credit.

Ne Zha 2, the fantasy epic that’s been setting records in China, opened to $7.2 million on 660 screens, according to Comscore, for the no. 5 spot at a domestic box office being trounced by Captain America: Brave New World.

The animated film from Cmc Pictures, see Deadline review, takes up where the 2019 original left off as Demon Orb Ne Zha (voiced by Joseph) and Spirit Orb Aobing (Mo Han) must share a body for seven days as Ne Zha battles dragons to save his hometown, and a lot more. Written and directed by Yang Yu (known as Jiaozi), the cast also includes Jiaming Zhang and Deshun Wang. It set an all-time record box office record during the annual Lunar New Year holiday and has passed $1.5 billion in China alone, making it the second-biggest animated film in global box office history after Inside Out 2.

Becoming Led Zeppelin from Sony Pictures Classics...

From the start, director Bernard MacMahon and writer and producer Allison McGourty knew there would be obstacles involved in making a documentary about Led Zeppelin, especially one done with the band’s cooperation. This is a group that has famously and diligently guarded its legacy, always maintaining a sense of mystique and rebuffing many earlier pitches for a movie like that. “Our sense was that there was absolutely no intention of ever doing a Zeppelin film,” MacMahon says.

Atop that challenge was the matter of what would actually be in the film,...

The new documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin charts the origins and early days of the influential rock & roll band through new interviews with surviving members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones, and a never-before-heard archival interview with late drummer John Bonham. The film opened in theaters this month, but Rolling Stone took in a premiere screening at the 2021 Venice Film Festival and filed this review.

Bernard MacMahon assumes we know a lot about Led Zeppelin. He’d guess that most fans have listened to the riffs and record sides thousands of times,...

RankFilm (origin)DistributorFeb 7-9 grossTotalWeek 1 Dog Man (US) Universal £3.2m £3.2m 1 2 A Complete Unknown (US) Disney £831,546 £10m 4 3 Mufasa: The Lion King (US) Disney £700,071 £30.3m 8 4 Macbeth: David Tennant And Cush Jumbo (UK) Trafalgar £680,840 £1.5m 1 5 September 5 (Ger-us) Paramount £517,000 £639,000 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.24

Universal animation Dog Man topped the UK-Ireland box office with a £3.2m opening weekend.

The film, based on Dav Pilkey’s children’s graphic novel series of the same name, played in 610 locations, taking a strong £5,347 location average.

That putsDog Man ahead of animation comparisons The Smurfs 2 (a lesser £3.2m in 2013), Trolls Band Together (£3.1m in 2023) and...

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” is a new IMAX doc feature, directed by Bernard MacMahon, charting the formation and early years of the rock band ‘Led Zeppelin’, now playing in theaters:

“…’Becoming Led Zeppelin’ traces the journeys of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant…

“…through the music scene of the 1960’s…

“…their meeting in the summer of 1968 and meteoric ascendancy throughout 1969…

“…culminating in 1970 when they become the No. 1 band in the world.

“The story is told exclusively by the band members with the late John Bonham represented by previously unheard audio interviews.

“The film features full performances, never-before-seen footage of the band's early U.S. and British concerts…

“…and unseen material from the band's personal archives…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Led Zeppelin on Imax, Parthenope by Paolo Sorrentino and Armand starring Renate Reinsve, both Cannes premieres, and Barry Koeghan in Irish drama Bring Them Down headline an interesting specialty weekend.

Sony Pictures Classics debuts Bernard MacMahon’s hybrid docu concert film Becoming Led Zeppelin exclusively in Imax at 369 locations this week, opening wide next week on over 1,000 screens. Powered by never-before-seen footage, performances and music, the film is billed as an experiential cinematic odyssey exploring Led Zeppelin‘s creative, musical, and personal origin story. It’s told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

An early version premiered at the Venice Film Festival back in 2021 as a work in progress to a 10-minute standing ovation. It subsequently incorporated a brand-new sound mix, newly unearthed material from the archives of all four band members (including home movies and family photos), and exclusive interviews with Jimmy Page,...

Universal animation Dog Man and Paramount thriller September 5 head up new releases in UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend.

Leading the way is DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man which is out in 617 venues after opening in the US last weekend. The story centres around a police officer, half dog and half man, who is up against a feline supervillain. Directed by Peter Hastings, the voice cast featuresPete Davidson, Poppy Liu, Lil Rel Howery and Isla Fisher.

Dog Man is based on the graphic novel which is a spin-off of the Captain Underpants series. That film adaptation debuted with £1.3m back...

Many of the best concert experiences come with unique band posters made to commemorate the occasion. Ahead of the arrival of the Led Zeppelin documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin in IMAX theaters next week, the company behind the premium film format is ensuring fans with a whole lotta love for the band will come away with an art print that shows "all that glitters is gold." Collider can offer an exclusive look at a new poster now available for purchase on the IMAX store that reflects the psychedelic style of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham during their rise to superstardom. The piece is designed by the film's director, Bernard MacMahon, as an ideal accompanying collectible for the four bandmates' journey to finding each other, starting the iconic rock group, and becoming the number one band in the world.

Quick Links 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' Is Striking While the Iron's Ice Cold 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' Is a Movie of Utmost Security The Elephant(s) in the Room

Becoming Led Zeppelin releases in IMAX theaters on February 7 (nationwide the week after), touted as the “first authorized documentary” in Led Zeppelin's 50+-year-long career. Following "rapturous applause" at an early screening at the Venice Film Festival in late 2021, as reported by Variety, the long-anticipated documentary strangely disappeared. We still aren't sure what took the film so long — don't rule out lawyers — but, at long last, Becoming Led Zeppelin will finally see the light of day. After all that hype, is it worth the wait?

Directed by famed music documentarian Bernard MacMahon, Becoming Led Zeppelin promises inside insight into the musicians' lives during the ascent of the pioneering band, which existed only from 1968 to 1980. Will it succumb to the...

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” is a new IMAX doc feature, directed by Bernard MacMahon, charting the formation and early years of the rock band ‘Led Zeppelin’, premiering February 7, 2025 in theaters:

“…’Becoming Led Zeppelin’ traces the journeys of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant…

“…through the music scene of the 1960’s…

“…their meeting in the summer of 1968 and meteoric ascendancy throughout 1969…

“…culminating in 1970 when they become the No. 1 band in the world.

“The story is told exclusively by the band members with the late John Bonham represented by previously unheard audio interviews.

“The film features full performances, never-before-seen footage of the band's early U.S. and British concerts…

“…and unseen material from the band's personal archives…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Sony Pictures has debuted a new trailer for the upcoming music documentary on the legendary group Led Zeppelin, ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin.’

Related: Interview – Jimmy Page, Allison McGourty & Bernard MacMahon on Becoming Led Zeppelin, the band’s new authorised documentary

The doc explores this iconic group’s origins and meteoric rise in just one year against all odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances, and music, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story.

The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film of the group.

Also in trailers – “What’s going on?” Barry Keoghan stars in new trailer ‘Bring Them Down’

The documentary hits IMAX cinemas on February 5 & 6th before it hits general cinemas on February 7th.

The post New trailer drops for music documentary ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Having been in the works for years, the Led Zeppelin documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin will finally hit theaters in February 2025. The official full-length trailer is also out now; watch it below.

The film, which serves as the first ever authorized documentary about Led Zeppelin, will screen exclusively in IMAX in over 200 theaters beginning on February 7th, 2025. Prior to the wider release, IMAX is holding one-night-only early access screenings in 18 cities on February 5, 2025. Tickets are on sale now for both dates here.

Director Bernard McMahon has been shaping Becoming Led Zeppelin for several years, poring through hours of archival footage to construct an intimate and comprehensive view of Led Zeppelin’s early days. In addition to an unearthed, never-before-heard interview with the band’s late drummer, John Bonham, the documentary features new interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, unseen footage from the band’s earliest performances in America and beyond,...

Having been in the works for years, the Led Zeppelin documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin will finally hit theaters in February 2025. The official full-length trailer is also out now; watch it below.

The film, which serves as the first ever authorized documentary about Led Zeppelin, will screen exclusively in IMAX in over 200 theaters beginning on February 7th, 2025. Prior to the wider release, IMAX is holding one-night-only early access screenings in 18 cities on February 5, 2025. Tickets are on sale now for both dates here.

Director Bernard McMahon has been shaping Becoming Led Zeppelin for several years, poring through hours of archival footage to construct an intimate and comprehensive view of Led Zeppelin’s early days. In addition to an unearthed, never-before-heard interview with the band’s late drummer, John Bonham, the documentary features new interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, unseen footage from the band’s earliest performances in America and beyond,...

Sony Pictures Classics announced Becoming LED Zeppelin will be released exclusively in IMAX on February 7, 2025, in almost 200 theaters. Ahead of the release, IMAX Theatres will be holding one night only early access screenings in eighteen markets on February 5, 2025. Tickets are on sale for both dates now at imax.com/ledzeppelin. A new trailer for the documentary has just been released.

Becoming LED Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all the odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

The hybrid docu-concert film also unveils a huge amount of rare and unseen Led Zeppelin performance footage. The result is a visceral musical...

Sony Pictures Classics has scheduled a February 14 2025 US release and unveiled a new trailer for its documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin directed by Bernard MacMahon.

The hybrid docu-concert film will open nationwide on 1,000 screens and digs into the legendary British band’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told from the band’s perspective and is the first officially sanctioned film by the surviving band members.

As previously announced, Becoming Led Zeppelin will open exclusively on Imax on February 7, 2025, in almost 200 theatres, and will be available for early access screenings on February 5 in 18 markets.

MacMahon and Allison McGourty wrote the screenplay,...

"It was an electric atmosphere! That'd been what I'd been waiting for." Sony Pictures Classics has revealed another trailer for Becoming Led Zeppelin, a music history rock 'n roll documentary made by Bernard MacMahon. This radical look back at the early days of Led Zeppelin debuted as a work-in-progress back in 2021 and is now set for an IMAX debut in theaters February 2025. Looks like it'll be a total blast to watch! Becoming Led Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic rock group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all odds back then. Fueled by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances, music, MacMahon's experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin's creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin's own words and is the first officially sanctioned film about 'em. "We spent five years flying back and forth across the Atlantic scouring attics and basements in...

Becoming Led Zeppelin delves into the story of the iconic rock band, and it’s heading to UK release early in 2025. More here.

Rock band Led Zeppelin have had several forays into film over the years. While The Beatles had huge success with films like A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, and Slade starred in the brilliant Slade In Flame, which is a criminally overlooked film and well worth tracking down, Zeppelin made The Song Remains The Same, which was half concert footage and half surreal fantasy sequences.

Their long anticipated reunion concert in 2007, which saw John Bonham’s son Jason on the drums, was filmed and shown in cinemas – if you haven’t had the pleasure, the version of Kashmir from this performance is absolutely brilliant.

Becoming Led Zeppelin, the first officially sanctioned documentary about the band, features new interviews with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

Sony Pictures has debuted a trailer for the rock documentary ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin.’

Becoming Led Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all the odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances, and music, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story.

The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

Also in trailers – “Our traditions are rooted in history…” Trailer drops in for ‘Karate Kid: Legends’

The doc hits IMAX on February 5th & 6th with a general cinema release on the 7th.

The post Trailer drops for rock doc ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Thanksgiving might be over, but gratitude is still in the air: The trailer for Bernard MacMahon’s Becoming Led Zeppelin is finally here.

A glimpse of the first authorized Led Zeppelin documentary can be seen below, where Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones discuss forming one of the greatest rock bands of all time across archival footage and “Whole Lotta Love.”

The trailer closes with a never-before-heard interview with the late drummer John Bonham, whose 1980 death broke up the band. “The first time we played together, it was stunning,...

We’ve already gotta whole lotta love for “Becoming Led Zeppelin” — the rock documentary and concert film about one of the greatest bands ever — and that’s just based on its trailer, released Thursday.

The film itself doesn’t come out until February 7, 2025, but it could be worth the wait: Sony Pictures Classics is releasing “Becoming Led Zeppelin” exclusively into nearly 200 U.S. IMAX theaters. It will play in preview screenings across 18 markets for one night on February 5. It will then open nationwide on 1000 screens beginning February 14 (playing some Zeppelin is always a good move on Valentine’s Day).

The film, directed by Bernard MacMahon, is billed as the first “authorized” documentary on the foursome of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and the late John Bonham. It features a never-before-heard interview with Bonham about the band’s trajectory and legacy.

In the first trailer for the film, Bonham...

Sony Pictures Classics will release the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin exclusively on Imax on February 7, 2025, in almost 200 theatres.

Two days prior, Imax Theatres will hold one-night-only early access screenings in 18 markets for the film, which explores the origins of arguably the greatest rock and roll band of all time.

Writer-director Bernard MacMahon’s hybrid docu-concert film digs into the British band’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film by the surviving band members.

Faced with hardly any footage from Led Zeppelin’s early period,...

“Becoming Led Zeppelin,” a documentary that chronicles the origins and meteoric rise of the iconic English rock band, will play on the big screen in 2025.

Sony Picture Classics, which acquired the film earlier this year, plans to release “Becoming Led Zeppelin” only in Imax on Feb. 7. Ahead of the release on roughly 200 theaters, Imax will hold early access screenings in 18 markets on Feb. 5.

“The cinematic power of Imax paired with the film’s authentic sound creates an immersive and transportive viewing experience letting audiences feel like they are there, in the venues with the band,” the film’s director Bernard MacMahon said in a statement.

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” explores their origins with never-before-seen footage and commentary from the notoriously private band, consisting of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. Described as a “hybrid docu-concert” movie, the doc also includes rare, unseen performances including concert halls of Led Zeppelin’s nascent tours.

Sony Pictures Classics announced Becoming LED Zeppelin will be released exclusively in IMAX on February 7, 2025, in almost 200 theaters. Ahead of the release, IMAX Theatres will be holding one night only early access screenings in eighteen markets on February 5, 2025. Tickets are on sale for both dates now at imax.com/ledzeppelin.

Becoming LED Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all the odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

The hybrid docu-concert film also unveils a huge amount of rare and unseen Led Zeppelin performance footage. The result is a visceral musical experience that will transport audiences into the concert halls of Led Zeppelin’s earliest tours,...

"The first time we played together was stunning. It was like a gift from heaven." Sony Pictures Classics has revealed the official trailer for Becoming Led Zeppelin, a music history rock 'n roll documentary from filmmaker Bernard MacMahon. This exciting look back at the early days of Led Zeppelin first premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and it's now set for an IMAX debut in theaters February 2025. Get all your friends for a rock night out! Becoming Led Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all the odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances, music, MacMahon's experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin's creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin's own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group. They add: "The filmmakers were up against epic challenges, including the fact...

Exclusive: Altitude Film Sales has secured international sales on documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin, the first officially sanctioned film on the iconic group.

New deals have been inked for Japan (Tohokushinsha), Australia and New Zealand (Madman Entertainment), Scandinavia and the Baltics (NonStop Entertainment), Czech & Slovak Republics (Cinemart) and Former-Yugoslavia (McF).

Sony Pictures Classics recently acquired Bernard MacMahon’s hybrid docu-concert film for multiple territories including North America.

Powered by “never-before-seen footage”, performances and music, the film explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical and personal origin story. Above is an image from the film capturing the band playing in Stockholm, Sweden, March 1969.

Pic is directed by Bernard MacMahon (American Epic) and written by MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty. It is produced by Paradise Pictures in association with Big Beach alongside executive producers Michael Clark, Alex Turtletaub, Duke Erikson, Cynthia Heusing, David Kistenbroker, Simon Moran, and Ged Doherty. Editing is by Dan Gitlin,...

Becoming Led Zeppelin, the long-awaited documentary about the rock legends, has been picked up for a theatrical release by Sony Classics Pictures.

Previously, a rough cut of the documentary was screened at Venice Film Festival in September 2021, but few updates were provided on the film’s status in the years since.

Per Variety, Sony Classics negotiated the deal with director Bernard MacMahon and Altitude Film Sales. The rights apply to North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia (sans Japan), the Middle East, and Benelux, though a timetable for the theatrical rollout has yet to be provided.

The “work in progress” version that was screened in Venice has now been “completed” with a new sound mix and additional footage including “newly unearthed material from the archives of all four band members.”

The only interview subjects in the film are Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones. The documentary...

Becoming Led Zeppelin, the long-awaited documentary about the rock legends, has been picked up for a theatrical release by Sony Classics Pictures.

Previously, a rough cut of the documentary was screened at Venice Film Festival in September 2021, but few updates were provided on the film’s status in the years since.

Per Variety, Sony Classics negotiated the deal with director Bernard MacMahon and Altitude Film Sales. The rights apply to North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia (sans Japan), the Middle East, and Benelux, though a timetable for the theatrical rollout has yet to be provided.

The “work in progress” version that was screened in Venice has now been “completed” with a new sound mix and additional footage including “newly unearthed material from the archives of all four band members.”

The only interview subjects in the film are Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones. The documentary...

Five years after the first-ever authorized documentary about Led Zeppelin was first announced — and nearly three years after it premiered at the Venice Film Festival — the long-awaited film is finally preparing to take flight to the big screen.

Sony Pictures Classics announced Wednesday that it has acquired Becoming Led Zeppelin, a “hybrid docu-concert film” directed by Bernard MacMahon and made with the full cooperation of the band.

The documentary features new interviews with Zeppelin’s surviving member Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who each granted filmmakers unprecedented access to their archives,...

Sony Pictures Classics has announced in a press release that the company has acquired the distribution for an official documentary of the iconic 70s rock band Led Zeppelin. The documentary, titled Becoming Led Zeppelin, will finally see its release after sitting on the shelf since 2021. The film is powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music. The director, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explores Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

The hybrid docu-concert film also unveils a huge amount of unseen Led Zeppelin performance footage, including The Fillmore West (January 1969), The Atlanta Pop Festival (July 1969), and The Texas Pop Festival (August 1969). The result is a visceral musical experience that will transport audiences into the concert halls of Led Zeppelin’s earliest tours, accompanied by intimate...

The chance for the public to see the long-awaited documentary “Becoming Led Zeppelin” is finally becoming a reality for fans of the classic rock band. The film has been acquired for release by Sony Classics Pictures, and will get a big-screen theatrical rollout, the company announced Wednesday.

The rights picked up by Sony Classics are for North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia (except for Japan), the Middle East and Benelux. Negotiations for the deal took place between Sony Classics, director Bernard MacMahon and Altitude Film Sales.

No time frame was given for the film’s release, but Zeppelin fans have waited for years, so a possible matter of months may come as good news at this point. A rough version of the film premiered at and was reviewed out of the Venice Film Festival in September 2021, before it seemed to slip into limbo, as far as the general public knew.

Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) has acquired all rights for North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Benelux and Southeast Asia excluding Japan to documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin.

Directed by Bernard MacMahon and written by MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty, the film explores the origin and rise of seventies rock giant Led Zeppelin. Paradise Pictures produced in association with Big Beach, and Michael Clark, Alex Turtletaub, Duke Erikson, Cynthia Heusing, David Kistenbroker, Simon Moran and Ged Doherty served as executive producers.

According to SPC, Becoming Led Zeppelin is the first officially sanctioned film on the group (though the band’s 1973 concert...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Bernard MacMahon’s hybrid docu-concert film Becoming Led Zeppelin, taking all rights in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia (excluding Japan), and Benelux.

Powered by never-before-seen footage, performances and music, the film is billed as an experiential cinematic odyssey exploring Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical, and personal origin story. It’s told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.

Screening as a work-in-progress at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation, the film now features a brand-new sound mix, newly unearthed material from the archives of all four band members (including home movies and family photos), and exclusive interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, as well as never-before-heard interviews with the late John Bonham.

Written by MacMahon and Allison McGourty, the film was produced by...

The UK’s $680 billion Film and TV Production Restart Scheme has been extended by a further six months for the final time, supporting another 400 productions.

The UK government’s insurance backstop, which pays out up to 20% of a show’s budget if it is delayed by Covid-19 and 70% if abandoned, was formed last summer and has since been extended three times.

The scheme has supported a wealth of big budget projects such as Peaky Blinders and Midsomer Murders.

It has so far helped 835 productions, protecting more than 70,000 jobs and $3.2 billion of production spend, according to the UK’s department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms).

The six-month extension, which will cover claims up to June 30, 2022 and remain open for applications until April 30, 2022, will be the final extension.

In order to support the transfer of risk to the market, the fee to enter the scheme will increase from 1% to 2.5% of...

The fund is still to allocate nearly £6m in its pilot year.

Eighteen projects have been awarded a total of £931,656 from the UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) through its international coproduction and international distribution financing strands.

The £7m fund was launched in April by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms) as a one-year pilot initiative to boost international development and distribution opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It is administered by the British Film Institute (BFI) and is available to companies working in film, TV, documentary, animation and interactive content.

In one of the key scenes from Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film “Almost Famous,” an aspiring rock star played by Billy Crudup stands on a rooftop in Topeka, Kansas, throws out his arms and shouts, “I am a golden god!” As an expression of stoned rock-star hubris, it’s perfect – but it’s also based on a real rock star, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, who apparently made that proclamation from the top of the Continental Hyatt House in Los Angeles sometime back in the late 1960s or early ’70s.

Plant’s exclamation pretty much sums up Led Zeppelin, the subjects of Bernard MacMahon’s “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” which premiered on Saturday at the Venice Film Festival. They were true rock gods from a time when the music of the ’60s was splintering, fragmenting and in need of a new breed of gods – and they knew it, gloried in it and made light of it,...

For a band that’s now thought of as the Beatles of heavy metal, not to mention one of the four or five greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time, Led Zeppelin got shockingly little critical respect back in the day. You could say that sort of thing happens a lot — in music (just look at the reverence with which Abba are now regarded; in their heyday they were often dismissed as facile creators of pop jingles) or in movies. But in the case of Led Zeppelin, there’s something uniquely telling about the vast chasm between the way they were viewed by their fans and by the gatekeepers of respectability in rock. And that helps to explain why Zep, 50 years on, still sound so raw and explosive and primal and volcanic.

What you hear in their music, as incandescent as a lot of it can be, is a quality that might be described,...

Becoming Led Zeppelin, the first-ever band-authorized documentary about the legendary rock group, premiered at the Venice Film Festival Saturday. Soon after, the first official clip from the upcoming film was uploaded online.

The minute-long teaser features pristine archival footage of the group performing “Good Times Bad Times” alongside black-and-white stock footage of a zeppelin hovering in the sky.

Jimmy Page was on hand for the documentary’s premiere, with the guitarist also discussing the film, the Associated Press reports. Page said the band had received many offers for an authorized documentary,...

Some A-list actors get treated like rock stars at film festivals, but when the real rock stars arrive, it’s another level of fandom.

Jimmy Page, the 77-year-old lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin, received a hero’s welcome in Venice on Saturday, where “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” the band’s first proper documentary since the band’s conception in 1968, premiered to bursts of rapturous applause across its 137-minute runtime.

The film received a standing ovation that may have broken “Dune’s” six-minute Venice record had it not been for Page cutting the fanfare short at three minutes and politely exiting.

Simona Ripamonti was among a group of Led heads awaiting the rock icon — the only one of the three remaining band members to come to Venice — on the red carpet, clad in the band’s signature T-shirt. But Ripamonti went the extra mile.

Her polyester black jacket was hand-painted with a...

For a casual fan who knows the band largely for swagger and self-indulgence, Bernard MacMahon’s Becoming Led Zeppelin is an eye-opening delight — a visit with charming old men who modestly recall the music-drunk paths they took to forming the defining band of the classic-rock ’70s. There’s plenty of indulgence here as well, in a movie that goes nearly an hour past the point at which these four lads became a phenomenon. But viewers not already steeped in their lore will appreciate the trip enough to forgive its victory laps.

It’s a no-frills journey in some respects: no animation, no ...

For a casual fan who knows the band largely for swagger and self-indulgence, Bernard MacMahon’s Becoming Led Zeppelin is an eye-opening delight — a visit with charming old men who modestly recall the music-drunk paths they took to forming the defining band of the classic-rock ’70s. There’s plenty of indulgence here as well, in a movie that goes nearly an hour past the point at which these four lads became a phenomenon. But viewers not already steeped in their lore will appreciate the trip enough to forgive its victory laps.

It’s a no-frills journey in some respects: no animation, no ...

The year of the rock ’n’ pop documentary continues. So far, 2021 has brought us Edgar Wright’s “The Sparks Brothers,” Todd Haynes’ “The Velvet Underground,” and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul.” Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” series is due in November. In the meantime, the Venice Film Festival has now hosted the premiere of “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” a fully authorized history of the 1970s rock gods’ early days, directed and co-written by Bernard MacMahon.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t help the thesis that this is a golden age of the music documentary. While Haynes and Wright put their own stamp on the genre, MacMahon’s workmanlike film is very much the kind of primer which you might slump in front of on television. It’s efficient and affectionate, but the band’s major contribution to cinema remains the scene in “School of Rock” in which Jack Black demands,...

Given the tendency of music documentaries to do little more than bring a Wikipedia page to life, it’s not exactly an encouraging sign when Bernard MacMahon’s “Becoming Led Zeppelin” begins with the band’s members literally listing off their date and place of birth. The film isn’t a complete rundown of their life and work – just a partial one, focusing on the group’s influences and early success from 1969-1970. But even a narrow focus cannot offset MacMahon’s indulgence of hanging onto every word in their interviews and every note of their performances.

Continue reading ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Is A Leaden, Overlong Doc Solely For Superfans [Venice Review] at The Playlist.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page didn’t hold back in detailing why the band has refused to participate in a single documentary until now.

Bernard MacMahon’s “Becoming Led Zeppelin” premieres at the Venice Film Festival Saturday afternoon, and tickets for all 12 press and public screenings of the film have sold out — easily making it one of the most sought-after movies at the fest. Part of the film’s appeal is its rarity, given the band has never taken part in a film apart from “The Song Remains the Same” (1976), which was more of a concert movie.

Page, the only band member to attend the Venice press conference, told reporters at a press conference that there had been requests to make a documentary in the past “but they’d been pretty miserable.”

“Yes. Miserable,” he reiterated when chuckles went up around the room, “and also to the point where they...

“Becoming Led Zeppelin,” the first fully fledged documentary portrait of rock gods Led Zeppelin, has been added to the Venice Film Festival lineup and will play out of competition.

Bernard MacMahon (“American Epic”) directed the film, which is the first time the band had participated in a documentary in 50 years, telling the story of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant and how they would bring a whole lotta love to the world.

MacMahon stages it not as a concert doc in the vein of the iconic 1976 film “The Song Remains The Same” but almost as a fantastical musical, which he says was in part inspired by “Singin’ in the Rain.”

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” starts its focus on each member of the band individually and how they went from playing small clubs throughout Britain in the ’60s until they met in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal...

Bernard MacMahon (‘American Epic’) directs, with the band’s participation

The Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) has added documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin to its 2021 line-up.

The film, directed by Bernard MacMahon, will have its world premiere out of competition at the festival. It is co-written and produced by Allison McGourty, who previously worked with MacMahon on his 2017 documentary, American Epic.

Altitude Film Sales and Submarine Entertainment will be co-repping sales.

It is the first and only time that the British rock band, consisting of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, the late John Bonham and Robert Plant, has participated in a documentary in 50 years.

Becoming Led Zeppelin, the documentary about the iconic rock band, has been added to the Venice Film Festival (September 1—11) lineup in an out of competition slot.

Directed by Bernard MacMahon (American Epic), and co-written and produced by Allison McGourty, the film chronicles band members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, the late John Bonham and Robert Plant.

The movie will reveal the individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever. Their four journeys merge into one as they set out to conquer America on a rollercoaster ride that culminates in 1970 when they become the number one band in the world.

Producers of the movie say it is the first and...