Deadline is exclusively reporting that Abramorama has set worldwide release plans for Mr. Jimmy, a documentary it’s acquired on Japanese guitarist Akio Sakurai, who has dedicated his life to honouring the music of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.
The film directed, produced and edited by Peter Michael Dowd will hit theaters globally on September 1, opening in the US against the Denzel Washington-led The Equalizer 3, Vertical’s thriller The Good Mother starring Hilary Swank and Olivia Cooke, and Strand Releasing’s French-language climbing drama The Mountain.
Mr. Jimmy explores Sakurai’s dedicated work to mirror Page’s fashion style, instruments, sound, movements, and live performances for an act he’d eventually take around the globe to festivals including SXSW, the Buenos Aires Film Festival, the São Paolo Film Festival, and the Rotterdam Film Festival.
As a teenager in snowbound Tokamachi, Japan, Sakurai took refuge in his room, escaping to another world with a pair of headphones and a pile of Led Zeppelin records. When he moved to Tokyo, he worked by day as a “salary man,” and by night became “Mr. Jimmy,” meticulously replicating Page’s playing styles and persona.
For 30 years, Sakurai recreated vintage Zeppelin concerts note-for-note in small Tokyo clubs, until the real Jimmy Page stopped by one night, and his life changed forever. Inspired by Mr. Page’s ovation, Sakurai quits his job, leaving behind his family to move to Los Angeles and join the tribute band Led Zepagain. Soon, though, cultures clash, and his idyllic vision of America meets with reality.
Led Zeppelin approved the use of their music in the film, which features an extensive list of their greatest hits.
Read more at Deadline.
