Movie Premiere

By Margaret Lipman (January 7, 2005)

I’ve been a devoted Kevin Spacey fan for over three years now -- though luckily for my friends (as well as anyone within earshot), not quite as devoted as I once was. Even so, I’ve seen almost every Spacey film -- no small feat, considering the obscure roles he was being offered in the early 1980’s! I have a poster from "The Usual Suspects," many of his films on video, and a Spacey-related e-mail address. I even own a copy of "American Beauty" in Spanish!

So when I heard last month that Kevin Spacey was in town for a screening of his new film, "Beyond the Sea," I was, needless to say, hugely thrilled. Luckily for me, a friend of my dad’s has a daughter in the PR business, and she was nice enough to secure us free tickets to the screening, where Spacey would take part in a Q&A session after the film.

"Beyond the Sea" is a biopic about Bobby Darin, who overcame lifelong (and terribly serious) heart problems to find success as both a recording artist and an actor. Darin’s career was cut short in 1973, when he died of complications from open heart surgery. But despite his illness, Darin (who, during early childhood, was told he would not survive past the age of fifteen) found fame with such hits as "Splish, Splash," "Mack the Knife," "Dream Lover," and, of course, "Beyond the Sea." Darin’s musical career was extraordinarily varied, with forays into rock & roll, big band, pop, gospel, country, and folk music. Darin married Hollywood starlet Sandra Dee in 1960, although the tumultuous marriage ended seven years later. In addition to winning numerous Grammys, Darin was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1963 for his role in "Captain Newman, M.D." Besides his fame as a vocalist and songwriter, Darin was also accomplished on the piano, drums, and guitar. Towards the end of his career, Bobby Darin became very involved in the anti-war movement and the 1968 presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy, eschewing tuxes and glitzy nightclubs for folksongs and acoustic guitars.

Despite Bobby Darin’s richly varied life and career, he is an unusual choice for the subject of a major motion picture -- especially in 2004, since much of the general population knows very little (if anything) about Darin. Spacey has discussed this question in quite a few interviews, comparing his film to "Forrest Gump," which became immensely popular and successful, despite having an unknown and unfamiliar title character. But unlike Forrest Gump, Bobby Darin was certainly a real person, and evidently one whom Kevin Spacey greatly admires. Besides starring as Darin, Spacey also directed, produced, and wrote the film -- quite an accomplishment, even for an obviously talented actor with two Oscars already under his belt.

And "Beyond the Sea" turned out to be a good film. Unfortunately though, it’s not one of Spacey’s best, although his performance is still characteristically excellent. The majority of the movie is very well-done, and the screenplay has some really superb lines and passages. But I really disliked the format of the film, which I’m still a bit confused about. In "Beyond the Sea," Spacey’s Darin is starring as himself in his own biopic. Which never happened, of course. It was very unclear as to which scenes were parts of this "film," and which scenes were actually supposed to be realistic events in Darin’s life. And even more unnecessary was the inclusion of the "young Bobby Darin" -- or, more accurately, the actor who was supposed to be playing that role in the fictional biopic. Confused? Yes, me too. Well, in "Beyond the Sea," Darin has quite a few conversations with the kid who is playing his younger self in the "film." I would have preferred if "Beyond the Sea" had been a straightforward dramatization of Darin’s already compelling life -- the "film inside the film" was completely extraneous and even laughable. Beyond that complaint, some of the dialogue is also overly trite, unrealistic, and --for lack of a better word -- cheesy. But if you can ignore all of that, "Beyond the Sea" really is a fine film -- or at least a valiant effort on Spacey‘s part. When the film is simply depicting Darin’s extraordinary life, it does an excellent job. I was especially interested in Darin’s later years, when he wrote "A Simple Song of Freedom" and joined RFK’s campaign.

So, although the film itself was not quite spectacular, I still enjoyed it, and was eagerly looking forward to Kevin Spacey’s appearance. So was the rest of the audience, from the look of it. Most were members of the Screen Actors Guild or the D.C. Film Society, through which they had found out about the screening. About five minutes after the credits of "Beyond the Sea" had finished rolling, Kevin Spacey strolled into the theatre and took a seat at the very front. I was a bit annoyed that I had consciously (though after much deliberation) decided not to sit in the very front, since I would have been literally two feet away from Kevin Spacey. But my seat was still good, anyway.

Spacey was asked around ten questions, most of which concerned the production of "Beyond the Sea," his dedication to the project, difficulties in funding the film, his role as joint star/producer/director/screenwriter, and the 50-day shoot in Berlin, Germany. Spacey cited his two greatest influences on the project as Bob Fosse’s "All that Jazz" and Frederico Fellini’s "8 ½." It was evident from all of his responses that Spacey has quite a lot of respect for Bobby Darin, and that "Beyond the Sea" truly was a labor of love. He also revealed some interesting, lesser-known facts about Darin, particularly his political activism.

"It was the best experience I’ve had with collaboration," Spacey said, discussing the large cast and crew. He also went into detail about coordinating his various roles in the project, which was obviously not easy. "You literally needed Henry Kissinger to figure all this stuff out," he joked about the complexities of the process.

At one point, an excited fan asked Spacey if he would sing. The whole audience, of course, nodded or voiced their approval of this request. I didn’t expect him to agree, but he did! With only a microphone, Spacey broke into a completely a cappella (and practically perfect) rendition of "That’s All." Quite impressive, I must say.

For me, though, the highlight of the evening came when I was given the microphone to ask Kevin Spacey a question. I hadn’t really thought my question through completely, but the whole theatre was suddenly staring at me -- including Kevin Spacey himself. I asked him about what it was like to play someone who was, like himself, involved in show business. I also said something about how his experience at the Academy Awards had been much better than Darin’s. Apparently, it was quite a funny comment. Even Spacey laughed, which was pretty nice. He didn’t exactly answer my question (he mostly talked about portraying a real person onscreen, preserving Darin’s legacy, etc.), but I really didn’t care. He was saying something, and looking straight at me for all of five minutes. Quite a thrill for a self-proclaimed ’Spacey Cadet"!

In response to one fan’s inquiry, Spacey categorically stated that he would not be participating in the proposed sequel to "The Usual Suspects." That was disappointing, but not unexpected.

Spacey was very gracious and down-to-earth throughout the whole Q&A session, which was quite a relief. As the session ended, he was immediately mobbed with requests for autographs and photos. I had brought along my copy of "American Beauty" -- the English version, that is -- but I didn’t really want to push through the crowd. But just as Spacey was leaving the theatre, my dad did manage to snap a few photos.

And so my Spacey odyssey concluded. "Beyond the Sea" is in limited release now, and I urge anyone with a slight interest in music, Kevin Spacey, or especially Bobby Darin (who was, by the way, posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) to go see it. But watch out -- it could turn you into a Spacey Cadet like me!