Documentary
Authorized Led Zeppelin Documentary Is Completed, Gets Official Title
The previously announced, officially authorized Led Zeppelin documentary has been completed. The film has also received a title: Becoming Led Zeppelin. According to Variety, the Bernard MacMahon-directed documentary will provide “unprecedented access” to the band. The film was first announced in 2019 and is the first official traditional documentary about the legendary rock act. “Becoming Led Zeppelin is a film that no one thought could be made,” MacMahon said. “The band’s meteoric rise to stardom was swift and virtually undocumented. Through an intense search across the globe and years of restoration of the visual and audio archive found, this story is finally able to be told.” Advertisement Related Video Zeppelin were previously chronicled in their 1976 concert film The Song Remains the ...
Dr. John’s Estate Claims They Didn’t Approve Dan Auerbach’s Upcoming Documentary
Especially considering the soulful inspirations that drive his work with The Black Keys, it should come as no surprise that Dan Auerbach is a massive fan of the late Dr. John. It seemed only natural that Auerbach’s directorial debut would be a documentary about the jazz and blues legend, with whom Auerbach even had the honor of collaborating a few years ago. But the project, which was announced only last week, has already been met with backlash from Dr. John’s estate. A statement issued by Dr. John’s estate claims that they hadn’t approved the making of the documentary, which was set to be released by the same company behind Questlove’s Summer of Soul. The film has yet to receive an official title or public release date. “The Official Estate of Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr., p/k/a Dr. J...
Anthony Bourdain’s Widow Denies Giving Permission to Deepfake His Voice in Documentary
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain premiered in theaters across the country this week, but not without an immense amount of controversy stemming from the use of A.I. to recreate Bourdain’s voice in the film. Now, Bourdain’s ex-wife has confirmed that she did not give filmmaker Morgan Neville permission to deepfake Bourdain’s voice. The drama began when Neville claimed to Variety that he had “checked…with [Bourdain’s] widow and his literary executor, just to make sure” they were OK with the development of the vocal deepfake. Once the article dropped, Ottavia Busia — who was married to the culinary icon from 2007 until their separation in 2016, responded directly to Neville’s claim, writing, “I certainly was NOT the one who said Tony would have been cool with that.” Ottavia’s tweet ca...
Oasis Announce New Documentary Oasis Knebworth 1996
Oasis still isn’t getting back together, but they are giving fans an opportunity to revisit one of their defining concerts. The Britpop icons have announced that their new documentary, Oasis Knebworth 1996, is coming to theaters on Thursday, September 23rd. The film’s release coincides with the 25th anniversary of the band’s legendary two-night performance at Knebworth, which marked the largest outdoor concerts in England’s history at the time. Directed by Grammy-winning filmmaker Jake Scott and executive produced by both Noel and Liam Gallagher, Oasis Knebworth 1996 promises to be an in-depth documentation Oasis’ Knebworth shows, which remain of one of the most critical milestones in rock history. “Knebworth for me was the Woodstock of the ‘90s,” Liam said in a statement. “It was all abou...
Val Kilmer Documentary Pulls From 40 Years of Home Videos: Watch the Trailer
A new documentary on Val Kilmer, composed almost entirely of home videos from Kilmer’s personal archive, is set for release on August 6th through A24 in partnership with Amazon Studios. Entitled simply Val, the film is co-directed by Ting Poo and Leon Scott, and pulls from 800 hours of footage spanning more than 40 years. In piecing together the doc, Poo and Scott culled through everything from 16mm home movies Kilmer made with his brothers, to behind-the-scenes footage from the set of blockbusters like Top Gun, Tombstone, and Batman. As Kilmer has lost his ability to speak due to throat cancer, the footage is narrated by his son, Jack. “I’ve lived a magical life, and I’ve captured quite a bit of it. I was the first guy I know who owned a video camera. I have thousands of hours of vid...
Watch Porter Robinson’s Behind-the-Scenes “Nurture Live” Mini-Documentary
This fall, Porter Robinson will be bringing his beloved “Nurture Live” show on the road to fans in over two dozen cities. While we already received a dazzling glimpse into the production via his headlining Secret Sky performance, nothing compares to the energy felt in the room during a live show. While much of the credit goes to Robinson himself, it wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of his crew. Today he released on his YouTube channel a mini-documentary highlighting how he’s working to bring his third album to life. Without giving too much away, the video is narrated by Robinson and features new, behind-the-scenes footage during the rehearsal and recording of his “Nurture Live” sets. He sheds light on his favorite parts of ...
Lady Gaga Details PTSD from Sexual Assault by Unnamed Music Producer
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-21T16:21:37+00:00“>May 21, 2021 | 12:21pm ET Lady Gaga has opened up in a new interview about the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of an unnamed music producer early in her career. (Trigger warning for anyone who may become upset from details or descriptions of sexual assault and rape.) During the emotional sit-down — which comes from the first episode of Oprah and Prince Harry’s new Apple TV+ docuseries The Me You Can’t See — the pop star discussed how the rape left her with lasting emotional scars. “I was 19 years old, and I was working in the business, and a producer said to me, ‘Take your clothes off,’ Gaga recalled through tears. “And I said, ‘No.” And I left, and th...
“Highest Concert on Earth”: New Documentary Chronicles Paul Oakenfold’s Mount Everest Performance
In 2017 legendary electronic artist Paul Oakenfold hiked his way through Himalayan villages and up to the base camp of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest, where he performed a DJ set that earned him the world record for the “highest concert on Earth” at 18,000 feet above sea level. The event managed to raise money for non-profit organizations Supporting Nepal’s Children and Youth Music, and reach over three million people worldwide through its gripping livestream. The iconic event, known as SoundTrek, became the first of many planned events of a similar nature that will encompass elements of music, travel, and philanthropy. Now, Oakenfold and executive producer Josh Heffler have released a documentary chronicling that journey to Everest’s base ca...
What Drives Us Is Dave Grohl’s Sweet Love Letter to the Road: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-29T18:45:44+00:00“>April 29, 2021 | 2:45pm ET The Pitch: What motivates rock stars to hit the road — enduring endless hours in a cramped van with smelly bandmates and mic stands poking you in the ribs, all to play a gig that could have 10,000 people or just 10? That’s the premise Foo Fighters frontman and rock legend Dave Grohl sets out to explore in his 90-minute documentary, What Drives Us. But amid his exhaustive interviews with music contemporaries both young and old, from St. Vincent to The Edge to Ringo Starr, Grohl’s journey evolves into something bigger: a quest to examine the appeal of the touring life in all its highs and lows and the soul-feeding nature of rock st...
A&E to Premiere Definitive Two-Night KISS Documentary in June
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-28T18:27:50+00:00“>April 28, 2021 | 2:27pm ET The storied career of KISS will be chronicled in a four-hour, two-night documentary dubbed Biography: KISStory airing on A&E in June. Filmed with the full cooperation and participation of KISS co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, the rock doc will feature appearances by a number of notable music luminaries. A description of the documentary from A&E reads: “After 50 years of rocking and rolling all night and partying every day, the #1 Gold Record selling band of all time, KISS, shares their story of success before finally smashing their last guitar and extinguishing the fire-breathing demon.” In addition to Stanley and Si...
Framing Britney Spears Producers Making Doc on Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl “Nipplegate”: Report
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T15:02:41+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 11:02am ET Left/Right TV is gonna have you questioning everything you knew about the term “wardrobe malfunction” by the end of this doc. The production team behind the Framing Britney Spears documentary are reportedly at work on a new film about Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s infamous 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show and what became known as “Nipplegate”. “It’s going to be all about the fallout and the suits who fucked over Janet [at] Viacom,” a source told Page Six. “They’re reaching out to everyone who was involved: dancers, stylists, directors. Everyone.” For those unaware of how “wardrobe malfunction” entered the lexicon, it was how Tim...
Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, Liam Gallagher, More Star in New Documentary Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-21T20:48:22+00:00“>April 21, 2021 | 4:48pm ET Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, Liam Gallagher, and more star in the new documentary Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm, arriving as a digital release on May 14th. The film tells the story of the famed recording studio in the Welsh countryside through decades of behind-the-scenes archival footage. Over the years, major UK bands such as Black Sabbath, Queen, Oasis, and Coldplay have recorded at Rockfield, established 50 years ago as one of the first residential recording studios. Osbourne, Plant, Gallagher, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, among others, are all interviewed, reflecting on their experience at Rockfield. The documentary is direct...
