Bobby darin biography kevin spacey playing

biographical harmonious drama film by Kevin Spacey

Beyond righteousness Sea is a American biographicalmusicaldrama skin based on the life of singer-actor Bobby Darin. Starring in the direct role and using his own disclosure voice for the musical numbers, Kevin Spacey co-wrote, directed, and co-produced high-mindedness film, which takes its title deprive Darin's song of the same phone up.

Beyond the Sea depicts Darin's deceive to success in both the medicine and film industry during the brutal and s as well as enthrone marriage to Sandra Dee, portrayed in and out of Kate Bosworth.

As early as , Barry Levinson intended to direct splendid film based on the life a mixture of Darin, and he began pre-production insist the project in early When lighten up eventually vacated the director's position, Unconventional, along with Darin's son Dodd, erred the film rights.

Filming for Beyond the Sea took place from Nov to January It was released family unit December to mixed reviews from critics and bombed at the box bring into being. Dodd Darin, Sandra Dee and antecedent Darin manager Steve Blauner responded lay into enthusiastic feedback to Spacey's work achieve the film. Despite a number diagram negative reviews, some critics praised Spacey's performance, largely because of his choosing to use his own singing speak. He received a Golden Globe office.

Plot

Rather than providing a straightforward annals, the film weaves fantasy sequences tweak scenes containing somewhat fictionalized accounts submit events in Darin's life, and all over it, the adult singer interacts condemn his younger self. It chronicles sovereign determination to rise from his manual roots as Walden Robert Cassotto, adroit frail boy from The Bronx afflicted by multiple bouts of rheumatic bubbles, who becomes a singer more wellknown than Frank Sinatra. To achieve lose concentration goal, he forms a band obtain struggles to find gigs at equilibrium nightclub that will hire him.

His agent gets Darin a recording ordain with Atlantic Records, where the balladeer enjoys teen idol success with "Splish Splash". Not wanting to limit rulership appeal to rock and roll audiences, he changes his niche to rough band singing and recording major hits, such as "Mack the Knife". Change capitalize on his popularity with teen and young adult audiences, Darin psychotherapy cast in Come September opposite Sandra Dee. He falls in love mess up the year-old actress; determined to spliced her, he romantically seduces and enchants her with songs like "Beyond goodness Sea" and "Dream Lover".They elope, stinging her mother. Darin finally realizes reward own mother's dream when he pump up signed to appear at the eminent Copacabana nightclub in Manhattan.

As good takes him on the road queue away from home, Dee begins on two legs drink heavily, and the couple fights frequently. Eventually, they separate and afterwards reconcile. She gives birth to deft son, Dodd. To his actress wife's chagrin, Darin is nominated for representation Academy Award for Best Supporting Human for his performance as a shipwreck shocked soldier in Captain Newman, M.D.

In the late s, Darin becomes evaporate in the campaign to elect Parliamentarian F. Kennedy for President and contemplates a political career of his placate. His sister Nina, knowing his dead and buried will be investigated closely if Copper opts to enter the political playhouse, shocks him with the news beloved mother actually was his grandma and that he is Nina's blameworthy child, the son of a churchman she cannot identify.

Devastated, Darin becomes a recluse living in a drone on the Big Sur coast detect California. He finds himself out shop step with changing music trends, perch when he tries to adapt indifferent to incorporating folk music and protest songs into his repertoire, he finds rejected by the audience that at one time embraced him. Undaunted, he stages splendid show, complete with a gospel ensemble, at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, and against all odds, turn out well is a huge success.

However, her highness triumph is short-lived. Suffering from purge poisoning following surgery to repair king mechanical heart valve, Darin is swift to the hospital, where he dies at the age of Following rulership death, he meets the younger visavis of himself once again, and say publicly two duet with "As Long importance I'm Singing".

Cast

• Kevin Spacey as Bogey Darin, who rises from his mean roots to become one of say publicly most popular rock and roll duct big band performers of all offend.
  • William Ullrich as Young Bobby.
• Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, the popular player who marries Bobby. Although they divorced in , Sandra said she at all times truly and deeply loved him shaft that she always would do unexceptional and thus never remarried.
• Bob Hoskins considerably Charlie Maffia, who serves as unmixed father figure and considers Bobby give rise to be his son.
• John Goodman as Writer Blauner, Bobby's dedicated talent manager. Blauner later becomes a successful film creator with movies such as The Prince of Marvin Gardens () and Drive, He Said ().
• Brenda Blethyn as Polly Cassotto, Bobby's biological maternal grandmother, who teaches him music as a child.
• Caroline Aaron as Nina Cassotto Maffia, Bobby's biological mother, whom he believed sentinel be his older sister until she tells him the truth when why not? is
• Greta Scacchi as Mary Douvan, Sandra's overprotective mother.
• Peter Cincotti as Pecker Behrke, Bobby's arranger and pianist.
• Matt Rippy as David Gershenson, Bobby's publicist.

Cathy Moriarty-Gentile and Vanessa Redgrave were originally weight in Beyond the Sea, but both actresses dropped out for unspecified reasons.^[1]

Development

Barry Levinson

Beginning in , Barry Levinson lucky break to produce and direct a biopic based on the life of Darin with funding from his own selling company, Baltimore Pictures.^[2] With writer Writer Colick, Levinson pitched the idea accost Warner Bros. Pictures, who agreed take care of co-finance The Bobby Darin Story put forward cover distribution duties. Producer Arthur Economist, a fan of Darin's work, began to laboriously negotiate for crucial opus licensing rights with Darin's ex-wife, Sandra Dee; his son, Dodd; and ex manager Steve Blauner. Colick wrote influence first draft in before Warner Bros. and Levinson commissioned rewrites from Missionary Attanasio and Paul Schrader.^[3] Their scripts, which kept The Bobby Darin Story title,^[4] concentrated on Sandra Dee's hitting the bottle and childhood molestation by her stepfather.^[3] David Gershenson, Darin's longtime friend, stage manager and manager, joined the project trade in a historical consultant.^[5]Tom Cruise was reportedly under consideration to portray Darin.^[6]

Meanwhile, tabled May , Warner Bros. optioned Dodd Darin's book, Dream Lovers (ISBN&#;).^[7]James Toback and Lorenzo Carcaterra were hired rant rewrite Attanasio's The Bobby Darin Story, which they retitled Dreamer in erior attempt to incorporate the information reside in Dodd Darin's Dream Lovers.^[8][9] Toback's script heavily focused on Darin's boyhood rheumatic fever and lifelong struggle large heart disease. It also followed representation previous Attanasio and Schrader scripts.^[3] Carcaterra's detailed research included Darin's music rolls museum, home videos, early television clips, sanctioned and unauthorized biographies, newspaper articles focus on magazine interviews. "I decided to fitting with a lot of real-life go out associated with Bobby Darin until [Levinson] said it was taking the precisely off of Bobby," Carcaterra explained. Despite the fact that a result, some of the writer's favorite scenes, including a Las Vegas confrontation with Elvis Presley, were left from his third and final drawing, which came in at a endless pages.^[3]

Beginning in , Kevin Spacey important offered his services to portray Constable Darin,^[10] but the filmmakers believed probity actor was too old. Around followed by, Spacey coincidentally performed the cover type of Darin's "That Old Black Magic" for the soundtrack of Midnight retort the Garden of Good and Evil.^[11] The actor explained that after , "at least three times a epoch, my manager would call over arrangement Warner Bros. and say, 'Hey, what's happening with that Bobby Darin movie? You guys ever going to get done it?'"^[12]

With filming to originally begin outline late , pre-production for Dreamer was commencing, and Levinson began to chat the film with various actors, plus Johnny Depp as Bobby Darin, Actor Barrymore as Sandra Dee,^[13]Bette Midler orang-utan Darin's birth mother Nina and Divine Kirby as Nina's husband/Darin's right-hand checker, Charlie Mafia.^[9] Levinson eventually vacated depiction director's position in favor of Liberty Heights ();^[14] because he was ineffectual to get Dreamer into production, Tasty Bros. lost the music licensing aboveboard, which reverted to the Darin estate.^[9]

Kevin Spacey

In March , Dick Clark Output announced their teaming with Dodd Darin on a biopic,^[15] with collaboration outsider producer Arthur Friedman, who had bent developing both The Bobby Darin Story and Dreamer with Levinson at Appetizer Bros. since ^[16] Shortly afterwards, Spacy was in discussions with Dodd Darin to star in the lead role.^[17] Spacey was able to acquire justness film rights from Warner Bros. pierce early ^[12] With the help depose Dodd Darin, the actor also standard exclusive music rights for no charge.^[18] With his Academy Award-winning performance add on American Beauty () - which featured a number of Darin's songs, Supreme Pictures became interested in distributing/financing Beyond the Sea. The deal fell put asunder when Paramount told Spacey that pacify was too old for the cut up and instead wanted Leonardo DiCaprio.^[3] Technique in October , Spacey took communicatory training lessons^[19] from Darin collaborator Roger Kellaway to give an accurate translation design of the singer.^[20]

Spacey also kept close relations with interpretation Darin family as a means leak know he would treat the ep "with respect." He sent letters beside that effect to Sandra Dee tube son Dodd.^[20] Steve Blauner (who enquiry portrayed by John Goodman in ethics film) also served as a factual consultant.^[18] Dodd originally considered Spacey's path to sing his father's material adroit sacrilege but eventually fell into synchronise with Spacey's deeply empathetic approach tell between Darin's life.^[3]

Tom Epperson, who had sock up a friendship with Spacey from way back writing an early screenplay draft win The Shipping News, was hired sort out write a new draft for Beyond the Sea. Epperson's script included Darin's penchant for orgies after his disband with Sandra Dee. Spacey, finding nobility Epperson script to be overtly unsighted and morbid, began to rewrite Beyond the Sea, incorporating info from authority Lewis Colick script.^[3] Spacey acknowledged sand portrayed Darin too sympathetically and granted not to depict the darker exterior of Darin's life centrally. "The on scripts made Bobby [Darin] a moderately unlikable figure," he explained. "I was not interested in making a orthodox biopic, as you can see unfamiliar the results. I was interested behave making an exuberant celebration of stupendous entertainer in a way that would be uplifting for an audience."^[21]

By establishment the biopic, Dodd Darin and Spacedout acknowledged the similar career experiences in the middle of Darin and Spacey. "A lot remind you of people doubted my dad's abilities, paramount Kevin's had doubters and naysayers," Dodd commented. "But both [men] were amenable to take risks, and both were very resilient. My dad would at all times try new things. You could at no time pin him down. Kevin's career practical similar."^[6] David Evanier, author of Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin (ISBN&#;), said "You can put Kevin's obsessiveness about getting the film compelled right up there with Bobby's enthusiasm. He's also the ideal person halt play Bobby. He has an eldritch physical resemblance to him, and crystal-clear also has Bobby's intensity and sunless side. Also, there's the connection become accustomed his mother. Bobby's mother's belief cloudless him sent him soaring. Kevin's surround wanted him to make this skin. Kevin sees the film as distinction act of devotion to his mother."^[6]

"I think the movie is about mothers and sons," Spacey said, referring restrain Darin's relationship with his mother Polly and sister Nina. Spacey's mother, Kathleen Fowler, died of brain cancer tetchy before production started, as such, rectitude film is dedicated in her honour, with the text "for Mom", glare displayed before the credits. "I through the movie for all mothers, however especially for my mother. She not native bizarre me to Bobby Darin. When she got very ill in , Funny stopped everything and took care sunup her. We constantly played Bobby Darin records, and I'd let her attend to the tracks I was status. I'm glad she passed knowing that was the movie I was bright and breezy to make."^[6] After his award-winning process in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, Spacey "chose to move move back from dark, sarcastic characters, and if not play damaged but good-hearted men"^[6] plentiful films like Pay It Forward, K-PAX and The Shipping News. The incident was criticized for his career move; Spacey acknowledged the similarities when Darin integrated folk music and protest songs.^[6]

Production

In February , it was announced stray production for Beyond the Sea was becoming fast tracked with Spacey gorilla lead actor, co-writer, producer and pretentious, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) agreed to keep secret distribution duties in North America.^[20] Compromise August, with principal photography to engender in just weeks, MGM dropped overrun as distributor and main financier upend scheduling conflicts.^[22] To accumulate financing put the film's $25 million budget, which came from foreign production companies, Spacedout performed six songs at the Nov American Film Market.^[3]Lions Gate Entertainment hustle picked up the distribution duties, service Spacey found enough investors from England and Germany to continue moving front on production.^[22][23]

In addition, Spacey declined run into be paid for his work style actor, director, co-writer, and producer accuse Beyond the Sea. A portion be incumbent on the $25 million budget came unearth his own Trigger Street Productions.^[24] Maker Arthur Friedman, who had shepherded authority biopic since , commented that grace and Spacey experienced creative differences on pre-production. Friedman remarked that he was not involved with Beyond the Sea once production began in Germany.^[3] Cinematography was originally set to begin appearance June ^[20] before it was in a holding pattern to November 7, , lasting pending late January ^[10] Eighty percent consume Beyond the Sea was shot good sound stages at Babelsberg Studios mediate Germany and Pinewood Studios in England. Lulworth Cove, Dorset,^[25]South West England multiple for Darin's setting of reclusiveness clasp Big Sur, California.^[18] In an venture to convincingly portray Darin, particularly meanwhile the early stages of the singer's life depicted in the film, Spacy hired prosthetic makeup designer Peter Prince from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.^[26]

Music

The soundtrack album features 18 tracks performed by Kevin Spacey.^[27]

Release

Marketing

To reverse Beyond the Sea, Spacey and Phil Ramone devised a city United States concert tour titled An Evening Celebrating the Music of Bobby Darin, which consisted of Spacey performing with well-organized piece band.^[24] "It's me singing Policeman and talking about Bobby and talk a little bit about the movie," Spacey explained in June Spacey put on in costumes from the movie care the tour, which started in San Francisco and traveled through Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Chicago, City and Atlantic City before ending escort the Wayne Newton Theatre at grandeur Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas.^[12] Spacey's performance at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel compose December 11, , received a stock-still ovation.^[28] Dodd Darin commented, "It was said about my dad that crystal-clear had some big brass ones. Set a limit do a film about my old boy is one thing, but it's substitute thing to go out and consider to work a nightclub. Kevin's got a lot of courage. I conclude he sounds good."^[6] The film was shown and promoted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, ^[29]

WGA arbitration

Beginning in October , decency Writers Guild of America, West conducted arbitration to determine writing credit form the scripts that had been dense since Barry Levinson, who developed loftiness film at Warner Bros. in , left the project. Lewis Colick, Outlaw Toback and Tom Epperson disassociated being for credit by the WGA.^[3] Glory Guild justified credit to Colick, who wrote the first draft of The Bobby Darin Story in , beam Kevin Spacey. Actor-writer Jeffrey Meek alleged he deserved credit; he was engender a feeling of $85, of a promised $, amplify settle his claim.^[3]

Spacey said Meek was "not a hired writer" on Beyond the Sea. "He turned in regular draft, but it was a compose based on earlier material based parliament my own screenplays,"^[3] Spacey said. Unpretentious said he was hired by manufacturer Harvey Friedman, a friend who helped connect him with Spacey, and whom supports his claim to have roll in 12 drafts, including one that was reported by Variety to have bent greenlighted by MGM in early "He bought my material and then learned like I didn't exist," Meek explained. "I'm not saying I'm Rembrandt, nevertheless it's like someone buying a picture and then scratching the name discard of it and putting their kind there."^[3]

Reception

Critical response

Beyond the Sea received sundry reviews from critics. Based on reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 42% divest yourself of the critics gave the film on the rocks positive review, with an average longest of / Its consensus states "Kevin Spacey's bio of singer Bobby Darin is either a fearless piece believe showmanship or an embarrassing vanity design, according to critics."^[30]Metacritic calculated a prejudiced average score of 46/, based dance 35 reviews.^[31]

Sandra Dee,^[21] Dodd Darin, Jemmy Scalia and Steve Blauner responded willingly to Spacey's work on the film.^[24]Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle felt that Spacey looked too unyielding to portray Darin convincingly and styled the film "one of the maximum embarrassing spectacles of " and "jaw-droppingly awful, a misbegotten and ill-conceived airs project."^[32]Desson Thomson from The Washington Post praised the actor's work, but besides felt Spacey did not convincingly dead heat Darin in his early music career.^[33] Internet reviewer James Berardinelli found primacy storyline to be overtly clichéd, nevertheless added, "Despite the choppy narrative become more intense inappropriate casting of Spacey, Beyond magnanimity Sea managed to keep me entertained."^[34]

Roger Ebert gave a largely positive study, stating, "Kevin Spacey believes he was born to play Bobby Darin. Distracted believe he was born to ground more interesting characters In his tired best work, Spacey has achieved genius; he is better as an feature than Darin ever was as boss singer."^[35]Stephen Holden of The New Royalty Times felt that "with Beyond blue blood the gentry Sea, Spacey crawls back from culminate doomed quest to be a Black Hanks-like everyman to his niche squeeze the underbelly of Hollywood's pantheon. Decency movie's a mess, and at 45, Spacey is far too old abrupt play Darin. Yet the star captures his desperation, his braggadocio, and altogether, his magnetism."^[36]Peter Travers, writing in Rolling Stone magazine, believed Spacey could sob prevent "the movie from groaning out of the sun the weight of biopic clichés. On the contrary the actor forges a bond touch his subject that rights all be entitled to. Doing his own singing (an unnatural imitation), Spacey is a marvel."^[37]

Box office

The film opened in limited release shrub border the United States on December 17, , and went into wider flee on December It grossed $6,, shut in the US and $2,, in ecumenical markets for a total worldwide crate office of $8,,^[38] It was ostensible a box office bomb because stretch did not make back its $25 million budget.^[12]

Accolades

Spacey was nominated protect the Golden Globe Award for Cap Actor - Motion Picture Musical think of Comedy but lost to Jamie Foxx for Ray. He and Phil Ramone were also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Book for a Motion Picture, Television strive for Other Visual Media, but lost touch on the producers of Ray.^[39]

Home media

On June 7, , the film was loose on DVD in widescreen anamorphic object for Region 1 markets. It characteristics two Dolby Digital English audio tyremarks (one in Stereo and the carefulness in Surround Sound), director's commentary close to Spacey, and a making-of featurette.^[40]

References

External links