| Beyond the Sea | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kevin Spacey |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Eduardo Serra |
| Edited by | Trevor Waite |
| Music by | Bobby Darin |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $8.4 million |
Beyond the Sea is a 2004 Americanbiographicalmusicaldrama film based on the life of singer-actorBobby Darin. Starring in the lead role and using his own singing voice for the musical numbers,Kevin Spacey co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which takes its title from Darin'ssong of the same title.
Beyond the Sea depicts Darin's rise to success in both the music and film industry during the 1950s and 1960s as well as his marriage toSandra Dee, portrayed byKate Bosworth.
As early as 1986,Barry Levinson intended to direct a film based on the life of Darin, and he beganpre-production on the project in early 1997. When he eventually vacated the director's position, Spacey, along with Darin's son Dodd, acquired thefilm rights.
Filming forBeyond the Sea took place from November 2003 to January 2004. It was released byLions Gate Films on December 17, 2004 to mixed reviews from critics andbombed at the box office. Dodd Darin, Sandra Dee and former Darin managerSteve Blauner responded with enthusiastic feedback to Spacey's work on the film. Despite a number of negative reviews, some critics praised Spacey's performance, largely because of his decision to use his own singing voice. He received aGolden Globe nomination.
Rather than providing a straightforward biography, the film weavesfantasy sequences with scenes containing somewhatfictionalized accounts of events in Darin's life, and throughout it, the adult singer interacts with his younger self. It chronicles his determination to rise from his working-class roots as Walden Robert Cassotto, a frail boy fromThe Bronx plagued by multiple bouts ofrheumatic fever, who becomes a singer more famous thanFrank Sinatra. To achieve that goal, he forms a band and struggles to find gigs at anynightclub that will hire him.
His agent gets Darin a recording contract withAtlantic Records, where the singer enjoysteen idol success with "Splish Splash". Not wanting to limit his appeal torock and roll audiences, he changes his niche tobig band singing and recording major hits, such as "Mack the Knife". To capitalize on his popularity with teenage and young adult audiences, Darin is cast inCome September oppositeSandra Dee. He falls in love with the 18-year-old actress; determined to marry her, he romantically seduces and enchants her with songs like "Beyond the Sea" and "Dream Lover". Theyelope, angering her mother. Darin finally realizes his own mother's dream when he is signed to appear at the famedCopacabana nightclub inManhattan.
As success takes him on the road and away from home, Dee begins to drink heavily, and the couple fights frequently. Eventually, they separate and later reconcile. She gives birth to a son, Dodd. To his actress wife's chagrin, Darin is nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as ashell shocked soldier inCaptain Newman, M.D.
In the late 1960s, Darin becomes involved in the campaign to electRobert F. Kennedy forPresident and contemplates a political career of his own. His sister Nina, knowing his past will be investigated closely if Bobby opts to enter the political arena, shocks him with the news his beloved mother actually was his grandmother and that he is Nina's illegitimate child, the son of a father she cannot identify.
Devastated, Darin becomes arecluse living in a trailer on theBig Sur coast inCalifornia. He finds himself out of step with changing music trends, and when he tries to adapt by incorporatingfolk music andprotest songs into his repertoire, he finds himself rejected by the audience that once embraced him. Undaunted, he stages a show, complete with agospel choir, at theFlamingo Hotel inLas Vegas, and against all odds, it is a huge success.
However, his triumph is short-lived. Suffering fromblood poisoning following surgery to repair his mechanicalheart valve, Darin is rushed to the hospital, where he dies at the age of 37. Following his death, he meets the younger counterpart of himself once again, and the two duet with "As Long as I'm Singing".
Cathy Moriarty-Gentile andVanessa Redgrave were originally cast inBeyond the Sea, but both actresses dropped out for unspecified reasons.[1]
Beginning in 1986,Barry Levinson intended to produce and direct abiopic based on the life of Darin with funding from his own production company,Baltimore Pictures.[2] With writerLewis Colick, Levinsonpitched the idea to Warner Bros. Pictures, who agreed to co-financeThe Bobby Darin Story and cover distribution duties. Producer Arthur Friedman, a fan of Darin's work, began to laboriously negotiate for crucialmusic licensing rights with Darin's ex-wife, Sandra Dee; his son, Dodd; and former manager Steve Blauner. Colick wrote the first draft in 1987 before Warner Bros. and Levinson commissioned rewrites fromPaul Attanasio andPaul Schrader.[3] Their scripts, which keptThe Bobby Darin Story title,[4] concentrated on Sandra Dee's alcoholism and childhood molestation by her stepfather.[3] David Gershenson, Darin's longtime friend, publicist and manager, joined the project as a historical consultant.[5]Tom Cruise was reportedly under consideration to portray Darin.[6]
Meanwhile, in May 1994, Warner Bros.optioned Dodd Darin's book,Dream Lovers (ISBN 0-446-51768-2).[7]James Toback andLorenzo Carcaterra were hired to rewrite Attanasio'sThe Bobby Darin Story, which they retitledDreamer in an attempt to incorporate the information present in Dodd Darin'sDream Lovers.[8][9] Toback's script heavily focused on Darin's childhood rheumatic fever and lifelong struggle with heart disease. It also followed the previous Attanasio and Schrader scripts.[3] Carcaterra's detailed research included Darin's music records, home videos, early television clips, authorized and unauthorized biographies, newspaper articles and magazine interviews. "I decided to meet with a lot of real-life people associated with Bobby Darin until [Levinson] said it was taking the focus off of Bobby," Carcaterra explained. As a result, some of the writer's favorite scenes, including aLas Vegas confrontation withElvis Presley, were omitted from his third and final draft, which came in at a lengthy 164 pages.[3]
Beginning in 1994,Kevin Spacey first offered his services to portray Bobby Darin,[10] but the filmmakers believed the actor was too old. Around then, Spacey coincidentally performed thecover version of Darin's "That Old Black Magic" for the soundtrack ofMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.[11] The actor explained that after 1994, "at least three times a year, my manager would call over to Warner Bros. and say, 'Hey, what's happening with that Bobby Darin movie? You guys ever going to make it?'"[12]
With filming to originally begin in late 1997,pre-production forDreamer was commencing, and Levinson began to discuss the film with various actors, includingJohnny Depp as Bobby Darin,Drew Barrymore as Sandra Dee,[13]Bette Midler as Darin's birth mother Nina andBruno Kirby as Nina's husband/Darin's right-hand man, Charlie Mafia.[9] Levinson eventually vacated the director's position in favor ofLiberty Heights (1999);[14] because he was unable to getDreamer into production, Warner Bros. lost themusic licensing rights, which reverted to the Darin estate.[9]
In March 1999,Dick Clark Productions announced their teaming with Dodd Darin on a biopic,[15] with collaboration from producer Arthur Friedman, who had been developing bothThe Bobby Darin Story andDreamer with Levinson at Warner Bros. since 1986.[16] Shortly afterwards, Spacey was in discussions with Dodd Darin to star in the lead role.[17] Spacey was able to acquire thefilm rights from Warner Bros. in early 2000.[12] With the help of Dodd Darin, the actor also received exclusive music rights for no charge.[18] With his Academy Award-winning performance inAmerican Beauty (1999) - which featured a number of Darin's songs,Paramount Pictures became interested in distributing/financingBeyond the Sea. The deal fell apart when Paramount told Spacey that he was too old for the role and instead wantedLeonardo DiCaprio.[3] Beginning in October 2000, Spacey took vocal training lessons[19] from Darin collaboratorRoger Kellaway to give an accurate portrayal of the singer.[20]
| "Bobby was a man I found very compelling, driven, ambitious and complicated. He challenged himself and never sat back on his laurels. It's sad that he didn't live longer, but I don't think his life was tragic. I view his life as inspiring." |
| — Kevin Spacey[6] |
Spacey also kept close relations with the Darin family as a means to know he would treat the film "with respect." He sent letters to that effect to Sandra Dee and son Dodd.[20] Steve Blauner (who is portrayed byJohn Goodman in the film) also served as a historical consultant.[18] Dodd originally considered Spacey's plan to sing his father's material asacrilege but eventually fell into sync with Spacey's deeply empathetic approach to Darin's life.[3]
Tom Epperson, who had struck up a friendship with Spacey while writing an early screenplay draft ofThe Shipping News, was hired to write a new draft forBeyond the Sea. Epperson's script included Darin's penchant for orgies after his divorce with Sandra Dee. Spacey, finding the Epperson script to be overtly dark and morbid, began to rewriteBeyond the Sea, incorporating info from the 1987 Lewis Colick script.[3] Spacey acknowledged he portrayed Darin too sympathetically and decided not to depict the darker side of Darin's life centrally. "The other scripts made Bobby [Darin] a rather unlikable figure," he explained. "I was not interested in making a conventional biopic, as you can see from the results. I was interested in making an exuberant celebration of an entertainer in a way that would be uplifting for an audience."[21]
By making the biopic, Dodd Darin and Spacey acknowledged the similar career experiences between Darin and Spacey. "A lot of people doubted my dad's abilities, and Kevin's had doubters and naysayers," Dodd commented. "But both [men] were willing to take risks, and both were very resilient. My dad would always try new things. You could never pin him down. Kevin's career is similar."[6] David Evanier, author ofRoman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin (ISBN 978-1-59486-010-2), said "You can put Kevin's obsessiveness about getting the film made right up there with Bobby's obsessiveness. He's also the ideal person to play Bobby. He has an uncanny physical resemblance to him, and he also has Bobby's intensity and dark side. Also, there's the connection with his mother. Bobby's mother's belief in him sent him soaring. Kevin's mother wanted him to make this film. Kevin sees the film as an act of devotion to his mother."[6]
"I think the movie is about mothers and sons," Spacey said, referring to Darin's relationship with his mother Polly and sister Nina. Spacey's mother, Kathleen Fowler, died of brain cancer just before production started, as such, the film is dedicated in her memory, with the text "for Mom", being displayed before the credits. "I made the movie for all mothers, but especially for my mother. She introduced me to Bobby Darin. When she got very ill in 2002, I stopped everything and took care of her. We constantly played Bobby Darin records, and I'd let her listen to the tracks I was recording. I'm glad she passed knowing this was the movie I was going to make."[6] After his award-winning performances inThe Usual Suspects andAmerican Beauty, Spacey "chose to move away from dark, sarcastic characters, and instead play damaged but good-hearted men"[6] in films likePay It Forward,K-PAX andThe Shipping News. The actor was criticized for his career move; Spacey acknowledged the similarities when Darin integratedfolk music andprotest songs.[6]
In February 2003, it was announced that production forBeyond the Sea was becoming fast tracked with Spacey as lead actor, co-writer, producer and director, andMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) agreed to cover distribution duties in North America.[20] In August, withprincipal photography to begin in just weeks, MGM dropped out as distributor and main financier over scheduling conflicts.[22] To accumulate financing of the film's $25 million budget, which came from foreign production companies, Spacey performed six songs at the November 2003American Film Market.[3]Lions Gate Entertainment quickly picked up the distribution duties, and Spacey found enough investors from England and Germany to continue moving forward on production.[22][23]
In addition, Spacey declined to be paid for his work as actor, director, co-writer, and producer onBeyond the Sea. A portion of the $25 million budget came from his ownTrigger Street Productions.[24] Producer Arthur Friedman, who had shepherded the biopic since 1987, commented that he and Spacey experienced creative differences during pre-production. Friedman remarked that he was not involved withBeyond the Sea once production began in Germany.[3] Filming was originally set to begin in June 2003[20] before it was pushed to November 7, 2003, lasting until late January 2004.[10] Eighty percent ofBeyond the Sea was shot usingsound stages atBabelsberg Studios in Germany andPinewood Studios in England. Lulworth Cove, Dorset,[25]South West England doubled for Darin's setting of reclusiveness inBig Sur,California.[18] In an attempt to convincingly portray Darin, particularly during the early stages of the singer's life depicted in the film, Spacey hiredprosthetic makeup designerPeter King fromThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[26]
The soundtrack album features 18 tracks performed byKevin Spacey.[27]
To promoteBeyond the Sea, Spacey andPhil Ramone devised a 12-city United Statesconcert tour titledAn Evening Celebrating the Music of Bobby Darin, which consisted of Spacey performing with a 19-piece band.[24] "It's me singing Bobby and talking about Bobby and talking a little bit about the movie," Spacey explained in June 2004. Spacey dressed in costumes from the movie for the tour, which started inSan Francisco and traveled throughLos Angeles,New York City,Boston,Chicago,Miami andAtlantic City before ending in theWayne Newton Theatre at theStardust Hotel in Las Vegas.[12] Spacey's performance at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel on December 11, 2004, received astanding ovation.[28] Dodd Darin commented, "It was said about my dad that he had some big brass ones. To do a film about my dad is one thing, but it's another thing to go out and attempt to work a nightclub. Kevin's got a lot of courage. I think he sounds good."[6] The film was shown and promoted at theToronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2004.[29]
Beginning in October 2004, theWriters Guild of America, West conducted arbitration to determine writing credit for the scripts that had been written since Barry Levinson, who developed the film at Warner Bros. in 1987, left the project. Lewis Colick, James Toback and Tom Epperson disassociated themselves for credit by the WGA.[3] The Guild justified credit to Colick, who wrote the first draft ofThe Bobby Darin Story in 1987, and Kevin Spacey. Actor-writerJeffrey Meek believed he deserved credit; he was paid $85,000 of a promised $125,000 to settle his claim.[3]
Spacey said Meek was "not a hired writer" onBeyond the Sea. "He turned in a draft, but it was a draft based on earlier material based on my own screenplays,"[3] Spacey said. Meek said he was hired by producer Harvey Friedman, a friend who helped connect him with Spacey, and whom supports his claim to have produced 12 drafts, including one that was reported byVariety to have beengreenlighted byMGM in early 2003. "He bought my material and then acted like I didn't exist," Meek explained. "I'm not saying I'mRembrandt, but it's like someone buying a painting and then scratching the name off of it and putting their own there."[3]
Beyond the Sea received mixed reviews from critics. Based on 145 reviews collected byRotten Tomatoes, 43% of the critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 5.2/10. Its consensus states "Kevin Spacey's bio of singer Bobby Darin is either a fearless piece of showmanship or an embarrassing vanity project, according to critics."[30]Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 46/100, based on 35 reviews.[31]
| "I'm very happy with the way the film turned out. Kevin loves my dad, and he wanted to do a tribute. My mother [who never remarried after her split from Darin] was speechless for a while after she saw it. It was emotional for her. There was a lot of truth and grit. But she couldn't be happier." |
| — Dodd Darin[6] |
Sandra Dee,[21] Dodd Darin,Jimmy Scalia and Steve Blauner responded enthusiastically to Spacey's work on the film.[24]Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle felt that Spacey looked too old to portray Darin convincingly and called the film "one of the most embarrassing spectacles of 2004" and "jaw-droppingly awful, a misbegotten and ill-conceived vanity project."[32]Desson Thomson fromThe Washington Post praised the actor's work, but also felt Spacey did not convincingly portray Darin in his early music career.[33] Internet reviewerJames Berardinelli found the storyline to be overtlyclichéd, but added, "Despite the choppy narrative and inappropriate casting of Spacey,Beyond the Sea managed to keep me entertained."[34]
Roger Ebert gave a largely positive review, stating, "Kevin Spacey believes he was born to play Bobby Darin. I believe he was born to play more interesting characters... In his own best work, Spacey has achieved genius; he is better as an actor than Darin ever was as a singer."[35]Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times felt that "withBeyond the Sea, Spacey crawls back from his doomed quest to be aTom Hanks-like everyman to his niche on the underbelly of Hollywood's pantheon. The movie's a mess, and at 45, Spacey is far too old to play Darin. Yet the star captures his desperation, his braggadocio, and yes, his magnetism."[36]Peter Travers, writing inRolling Stone magazine, believed Spacey could not prevent "the movie from groaning under the weight of biopic clichés. But the actor forges a bond with his subject that rights all wrongs. Doing his own singing (an uncanny imitation), Spacey is a marvel."[37]
The film opened inlimited release in the United States on December 17, 2004, and went intowider release on December 29. It grossed $6,318,709 in the US and $2,128,906 in international markets for a total worldwide box office of $8,447,615.[38] It was declared abox office bomb because it did not make back its $25 million budget.[12]
Spacey was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy but lost toJamie Foxx forRay. He andPhil Ramone were also nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, but lost to the producers ofRay.[39]
On June 7, 2005, the film was released on DVD inwidescreen anamorphic format forRegion 1 markets. It features twoDolby Digital English audio tracks (one in 2.0 Stereo and the other in 5.1 Surround Sound),director's commentary by Spacey, and amaking-of featurette.[40]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Quotations related toBeyond the Sea (2004 film) at Wikiquote
