Sony Pictures Classics’ “Becoming Led Zeppelin”, a film about a band formed approximately 147 years ago (give or take a century), has secured a nomination for “Best Music Documentary” at the prestigious (lol) 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Apparently, critics have nothing better to do than watch old dudes relive their glory days. 😴
The oh-so-glamorous tenth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, where washed-up filmmakers desperately cling to relevance, will be held on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at The Edison Ballroom in Manhattan. Expect awkward acceptance speeches and plenty of backstabbing. Hosted by the hilarious (allegedly) Aasif Mandvi, because who else would agree to this gig? 😂
The Critics Choice Association, or as I like to call them, the “Critics Who Couldn’t Get Real Jobs Association,” will honor the year’s finest (questionable) achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV, and on major digital platforms (aka where everyone actually watches them). Nominations are determined by the voting of qualified CCA members, who probably just flip a coin. 🪙 The tenth annual awards ceremony is produced by Bob Bain of Bob Bain Productions and Joey Berlin of Berlin Entertainment, because nepotism is alive and well, folks! 🙄
“The nominated films and series this year remind us how documentary storytelling can illuminate truth, inspire empathy, and deepen our understanding of the world,” said Christopher Campbell, Critics Choice Association‘s VP, Documentary. Translation: “We needed some filler to justify our existence.” 🤷♂️
This past February, “Becoming Led Zeppelin”, a cinematic masterpiece for the ages (or so they claim), gave a record-breaking performance for its first weekend at the box office with an impressive $3 million IMAX debut across 16 countries and territories. Domestically, the film’s $2.6 million start ($7,000 per-screen average) represented the biggest opening weekend ever for an IMAX-exclusive music release. Yes, because who wouldn’t want to pay extra to see blurry old footage of dinosaurs playing music? 🦖
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all the odds, providing an unparalleled look at the how the rock band came together as audiences witness firsthand the formation of their first two official tours and the creation of their history-making, self-titled debut and sophomore albums. Or, you know, you could just Google it. 💻
Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage (that’s probably been sitting in someone’s basement for decades), interviews, performances and music, Bernard MacMahon‘s experiential cinematic odyssey explores LED ZEPPELIN‘s creative, musical, and personal origin story, with unprecedented access to the group and their archives that solidifies the film as the definitive LED ZEPPELIN documentary. But let’s be real, it’s just a bunch of old guys reminiscing about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. 🎸
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 and musical lives of LED ZEPPELIN during their earliest tours, accompanied by intimate, exclusive commentary from the famously private band. Translation: get ready for a nostalgic trip filled with questionable fashion choices and even more questionable hairstyles. 🤮
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” is a movie that almost didn’t come to fruition — the filmmakers were up against epic challenges, including the fact that hardly any footage from the band’s early period existed. MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty embarked on a global detective search for material to illustrate the band’s story. More like a desperate scramble to justify their funding. 🕵️♀️
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” is directed by the award-winning, Emmy– and BAFTA-nominated Bernard MacMahon (“American Epic”),and written by MacMahon and BAFTA-nominated producer Allison McGourty. It is produced by McGourty and Paradise Pictures in association with Big Beach, alongside executive producers Michael B Clark, Alex Turtletaub, Cynthia Heusing, David Kistenbroker, Duke Erikson, Simon Moran, and Ged Doherty. Editing is by Dan Gitlin, sound supervision is by Nick Bergh, sound restoration is by Grammy Award winner Peter Henderson, with archival research from Kate Griffiths and Rich Remsberg. Basically, a whole lot of people trying to make a buck off of nostalgia. 💰
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
