Synopsis

For Bobby Darin, performing was his life. It kept his heart beating. He came alive onstage, even when he was near collapse offstage. With a heart damaged by rheumatic fever, Walden Robbert Cassotto (Little Bobby) isn't supposed to live to see age 15. But when his mother Polly shows him the happiness that comes with music, Bobby finds the inspiration he needs to stay alive. Making music opens a world beyond sickness, where prodigious talent, drive and imagination can overcome a faulty heart. With the help and support of his devoted family Polly, his older sister Nina and Nina's husband Charlie, Bobby becomes a star. From tacky clubs, performing in Vegas, the song 'Splish Splash', his star shines bright. The hits keep coming, his life keeps evolving.

What The Critics Say

"One of the most genuine tributes ever offered by one artist to another. Spacey's gamble pays off in 'Sea'. Though pushed along quickly on a trim budget, this is a stunning salute, for Spacey's love for Darin's music and his "gotta play the Copa" era is so keen that "Beyond the Sea" surfs on pure affection." David Elliott SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE "Beyond the Sea is an energetic biopicture on the life and career of the cocky and irrepressible singer Bobby Darin." Frederic and Mary Ann SPIRITUALITY AND PRACTICE "If you're a Darin and/or a Spacey fan, this film is a must see." Jules Brenner CINEMA SIGNALS "The movie possesses genuine feeling because Spacey is there with Darin during all the steps of this journey, up and down, all the way into death." Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "The music is great and kudos to Spacey for his renditions of Bobby Darin’s many songs." Robin Clifford, REELING REVIEWS

"The idea is that, while the real Darin dies, his spirit lives on in the form of his music and, specifically, in Spacey's portrayal. That might sound egotistical on Spacey's part, but to a degree, he's earned the right by honoring the crooner's music through the film. He also deserves credit for attempting to alter the language of the biopic, even if he stumbles back to the basics for a good portion of the run, but Beyond the Sea ultimately works as flattering homage. And did I mention the music's great?" Scott Foundas L.A. WEEKLY "The performances are all very strong, but needy characters are hard to really connect with - it's not an overly compelling story... but Kevin can definitely sing." Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone THEMOVIECHICKS.COM "A hugely entertaining, highly empathetic portrait. Spacey's talent continues to expand as his singing and dancing uncannily suggests Darin without being a slavish imitation. His direction of fellow actors is attentive to details as well as the big picture. The production itself achieves everything it wants to in terms of stylish cinematography, period-perfect design and eye-catching costumes." Kirk Honeycutt HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "A lovely biopic about a singer who was right up there with Frank Sinatra." Harvey S Karten COMPUSERVE "If Spacey's age problem proves an insurmountable distraction for literalists and Darin fans, his admirers will no doubt relish the chance to watch him sing, dance and basically take over the screen for two hours." Ann Hornaday WASHINGTON POST

The Inside Story Actor Kevin Spacey sure has come a long way since he made his film debut as a ring stealing subway thief in the 1986 Mike Nichols film, "Heartburn". Based on Nora Ephron's semi-autobiography about her second marriage to Carl Bernstein and his affair with Margaret Jay, the film, which starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson bombed at the box-office. Never the less, Spacey was in good company in "Heartburn" as the supporting cast list included 1997 Crystal Globe award winner & 1975 Academy Award winner Miloš Forman; "Dumb & Dumber" star Jeff Daniels; 1991 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winner Mercedes Ruehl; Academy, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe Awards winner Maureen Stapleton; 2003 London Critics Circle Film ALFS Award for Actress of the Year and Dual Emmy Award winner Stockard Channing; dual Academy Award winner and 1990 People's Choice World Favourite Motion Picture Actress Meryl Streep; and of course, 1997 Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson. While "Heartburn" may have been a dud, it gave Spacey a start in films that would lead to, a decade later, winning two Academy Awards. His first was for Best Supporting Actor in the 1995 film "The Usual Suspects". Four years later in 1999 Spacey cracked the 'big-time' when he took out the Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor after appearing in the critically acclaimed, "American Beauty". Dedicated Spacey fans will quickly point out they aren't the only awards he has won. So for those who aren't aware, here's a few more. 1996 MTV Movie Award for Best Villian after he appeared as John Doe in the film "Se7en"; 1997 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Award for "L.A. Confidential"; UK Empire Award for Best Actor in "L.A. Confidential"; Russian Guild of Film Critics Best Foreign Actor Award 2000 for "American Beauty"; 1995 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Award for "The Usual Suspects"; 1999 Laurence Olivier Best Actor Theatre Award for "The Iceman Cometh", and 1991 the Tony Award for his role in "Lost in Yonkers". Spacey has done well out of film despite being quoted as saying, "I was beginning to feel I just didn't want to go through another ten years of living in hotels, making three or four movies a year. I long for the ritual of theatre. I adore it. And I want to do plays that challenge me. The movies are not my first priority - the theatre is." His love of theatre is probably rivaled by his love for the big band music that influenced singer Bobby Darin. Spacey first became aware of Darin through his parents, whose record collection included Darin's LPs. The singer certainly made a big impression on the young Spacey who recalls, "I just thought he was the coolest cat that ever walked the face of the earth. His style, his attack had certain echoes of Sinatra, but it was its own thing." But the biggest influence came in his growing years. Spacey gained a real appreciation of just how talented Darin was. "I began to realize the breadth of his musical journey, how he went from rock & roll into pop music, gospel music, folk music, country/western and ultimately, into protest songs against the Vietnam war," he recalls. " When you then look at that trajectory in the context of his short 15 year career, that's a pretty remarkable road." Remarkable indeed for Darin'’s talent went well beyond singing and song interpretation. A self-taught musician, he was a songwriter who played guitar, drums and piano. In the late 1950s, he rocketed to success with the gold records 'Splish Splash', 'Queen of the Hop' and 'Dream Lover', becoming a teen idol in the process. In 1959, at the age of twenty three, he released his second album. "That's All". The track list included 'Mack the Knife', which was #1 on the Billboard charts for nine weeks. It won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Darin won Best New Artist. Spacey put a lot on the line when he took on "Beyond The Sea". Not only does he star in "Beyond The Sea", he also co-wrote the screenplay, co-produced the film and directed it. But before filming got underway he spent four years working with Darin’s music, listening, practicing and recording. "Every time I was off somewhere doing a movie, I'd be in a hotel room with tracks learning, and going into studios, recording and learning about myself recording," he remembers. "I was trying to find a way to have the attack be Bobby's but not feel saddled by doing an imitation. I felt the vocals had to come from me in order for it to be alive." And singing the songs in the film wasn't a foregone conclussion. Why? Because the rights to Darin's songs are jealously guarded by Darin's manager Steve Blauner who had insisted on a contractual provision requiring the use of Darin’s actual recordings. Spaceys request to sing the songs was quickly given the old heave-ho. Blauner told Spacey’s representative, "This is my soul-mate, this is my brother. This is someone who I loved dearly, still love dearly, still think of all the time. And I can’t be part of the movie if it’s not Bobby’s voice. It’s just not possible for me. Go make your movie." Spacey then rang Blauner who told him, "I'm a big fan of yours. But you shouldn’t sing." They talked for two hours. The conversation ended with the two agreeing to meet when Spacey was next in L.A. They did meet and while they lunched in Los Angeles Blauner again told Spacey he shouldn't sing. When Blauner left the meeting he remembers saying to himself, "Well, for this man to still be talking to me, he’s got to have this passion that is sometimes the most important thing." He decided to contact Darin's son Dodd Darin. The manager says he told Dodd, "Look, this is your call. This is your father. You want to cooperate, I’m with you; you don'’t want to cooperate, I’m with you." Dodd's reaction? "Let's cooperate," he replied. Blauner then took it upon himself to track down the original arrangements for Darin’s recordings, and sent them to Spacey. He also sent Spacey several never-released recordings, "so he could hear other sides of Bobby." Now he had their blessing, the next job was to cast the actors who would appear in the film. It was a painstaking proceedure. Spacey says he "was as painstaking in casting the film as he was in learning Darin's music. It was critically important to me that I find all those characters. Bobby Darin is the center of the story, but around him are a lot of people that meant a lot to him in his life and who went with him on this journey." Kate Bosworth was cast as Darin's wife Sandra Dee. "Everyone had an image of Sandra Dee as this perfect, golden girl virgin; but she really had so much dysfunction in her life that she was actually quite a dark character," Bosworth notes. " It was exciting to play the emotional journey of a character that ranges from age sixteen to twenty seven. In a single day, I might do a scene where I’m playing Sandra, as innocent as could be, at sixteen. And then the next scene, she might be twenty five, with a child, a full-blown alcoholic with a cigarette in her hand." John Goodman, who aussie film fans will remember co-starred alongside Bryan Brown, Toni Collette and Sam Neill in the 2002 film "Dirty Deeds", plays none-other than Darin's manager Steve Blauner. "Steve Blauner is kind of a force of nature, as Bobby was. He believed in Bobby enough to take him on; everybody believed in Bobby," says Goodman. "It's like this movie. Kevin believed in this thing so damn much, it was hard not to jump onto it. I've never seen anything like it." Goodman and Spacey go back a quarter of a century. "My respect for Kevin is enormous," he said, "and I’ve known him since 1981 when he got out of Juilliard." The role of Charlie Maffia, who married Nina Cassotto and cared for Bobby like a son went to acclaimed British actor Bob Hoskins. Hoskins, who picked up a BAFTA, Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle Awards after appearing in the film "Mona Lisa" says, "I always knew Bobby Darin. I've got quite a lot of records of his. One of the things that interested me was the fact that I didn't know his history. Charlie was like Bobby’s nurse, and he kept him alive." The role of Darin's longtime musical accompanist and arranger Dick Behrke, went to young pop/jazz pianist, vocalist, composer and arranger sensation Peter Cincotti who said, "One of the most important things that drew me to the film is the music. It’s really a character in the film. Kevin is telling the story through the music." The supporting cast includes Academy Award® nominee Brenda Blethyn as Polly, Darin’s mother; Caroline Aaron as Nina, his sister; Greta Scacchi as Sandra Dee’s mother, Mary; and 11-year-old William Ullrich as the young Bobby Cassotto. One aspect that demands kudos is the work of the films, 'Bobby Darin Band'. The acclaimed conductor, arranger, music historian John Wilson directed the orchestra, working from Darin’s original arrangements that Blauner had given to Spacey. "We were doing note for note what Bobby did. I think somehow knowing that, this orchestra rose to a level of playing that John said he’s never seen before," notes Spacey. " They were determined to capture that sound of that time. And because they raised their game, they raised my game. It was just the most remarkable twelve days I’ve ever spent. It was incredible to be in Abbey Road, in the studio where The Beatles laid down 178 tracks." And, according to Spacey, the finished product is not as many would lable it. "Beyond the Sea is not a linear story at all. It's not what people will expect and it's not a biopic. It's my statement." What a glorious statement it is. It's fun, it's colorful and you'd swear that Bobby himself was singing some of those tracks. My advice is forget some of the crap the critics are spouting. Go see "Beyond The Sea and makeup your own mind. The Verdict "Here's the pitch: if you expect fourty five year old Kevin Spacey to look like the real Bobby Darin forget it, for while there are many moments when Spacey truly does resemble the deceased singing idol, "Beyond The Sea" is much, much more than a look-a-like tribute. In fact, Spacey performs many of Darin's biggest hits with more style than Darin himself did. Spacey's vocals are first class. Combined this with a solid support cast, eye-catching dance routines, a glorious big band sound, a colorful story, and it's not hard to see why "Beyond The Sea" is so easy to recommend. SOLID 3 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "BEYOND THE SEA" stars .......
Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey ["K-PAX", "The Shipping News", "The Life of David Gale" and "Superman Returns"]; John Goodman ["Dirty Deeds", "Masked and Anonymous" and "Home of Phobia"]; Golden Globe & BAFTA Award winner Bob Hoskins ["Maid In Manhattan", "Vanity Fair" and "Mrs Henderson Presents"]; Brenda Blethyn ["Lovely & Amazing", "On A Clear Day" and "Pride & Prejudice"], Greta Scacchi ["The Serpent's Kiss", "Ladies Room" and "Looking for Alibrandi"] and Kate Bosworth ["Blue Crush", "Wonderland", "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!" and "Bee Season"] as Sandra Dee.
"BEYOND THE SEA" was .......
directed by Kevin Spacey ["Albino Alligator"]; screenplay written by Kevin Spacey ["Beyond the Sea"] and Lewis Colick ["Bulletproof", "Ghosts of Mississippi" and "Ladder 49"]; cinematography by Eduardo Serra ["Unbreakable", "Intimate Strangers" and "The Comedy of Power"]; production design by Andrew Laws ["Tigerland", "Phone Booth", "Down With Love" and "Along Came Polly"]; costume design by Ruth Myers ["Centre Stage", "Proof Of Life", "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Connie and Carla"] and edited by Trevor Waite ["Butterfly Kiss","Welcome to Sarajevo", "Wonderland" and "24 Hour Party People"]. Run Time 158 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Lions Gate Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved