Spacey Sings Darin On Beyond The Sea

Bobby Darin Pic Soundtrack Out November 23

Includes 18 Darin Classics Performed by Oscar-Winner Kevin Spacey

Film opens Nationwide on December 29th

ATCO/Rhino Records salutes a performer who chose artistic expression over professional expectation on the soundtrack to the upcoming Bobby Darin film, BEYOND THE SEA. Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey stars as the Rock And Roll Hall-of Famer and sings 18 classics on the movie's soundtrack.

BEYOND THE SEA will be released by Lions Gate Films, the motion picture acquisition, production and distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE and TSX: LGF), on December 10 in New York and December 17 in Los Angeles. The film features a stellar supporting cast which includes Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Gretta Scacchi, Caroline Aaron and Peter Cincotti.

The soundtrack will be available November 23 at all retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested retail price of $18.98. On the CD, Spacey traces the remarkable arc of Darin's career on 18 songs that show Darin's evolution from teen idol ("Splish Splash" and "Dream Lover") to nightclub sensation ("Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea") and folk artist ("If I Were a Carpenter" and "Simple Song of Freedom.")

The actor and his subject share a musical connection "Bobby got into music through his brother-in-law's big band record collection; I got into music through my dad's collection of big band and jazz 78s." recalls Spacey "I was the kid standing in the living room singing into a hairbrush to my family. Bobby did same thing except he was singing along to Frank Sinatra records and I was singing along to Bobby Darin records."

Not content to just lip-sync Darin's songs, Spacey spent years developing his voice and studying Darin's nightclub act before the cameras rolled. "I began working with Roger Kellaway in 1999 long before there was a script or money to make the movie. Kellaway worked with Bobby as a musical director and accompanists. After three years of playing at home and in clubs with Roger, he and I started working on a soundstage at Universal Studios where there was room for a band. We also set up a big screen next to some mirrors so I could watch any of Bobby's performance on screen while watching my performance in the mirrors."

In 2002, Spacey went into the Capitol Records studio with legendary record man Phil Ramone (Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra). Backed by a 16-piece orchestra, Spacey cut more than 20 tracks, which he later used as rehearsal tapes. "When I started working with him, no one-including Kevin-knew if he could sing Bobby's songs," notes Ramone. "When the filming began, Kevin had Bobby's nightclub act down. He wasn't an actor imitating a singer anymore; he'd developed Bobby's instincts as a singer and was playing off the audience and the musicians like Bobby would."

The recordings heard on the BEYOND THE SEA soundtrack were arranged with a 73-piece orchestra led by John Wilson and cut in Abbey Road's legendary Studio 2. Darin's son Dodd and manager, Steve Blaumer provided all of Bobby's original arrangements and charts to recreate specific sessions and shows note-for-note.

Born with a rheumatic heart, an awareness of mortality fueled Darin's restlessness and his constant reinvention. After scoring a hit in 1958 with the seminal rocker "Splish Splash," Darin ignored everyone's advice and cut an album of standards-one of them being "Mack the Knife," which earned him the Grammy for Best New Artist and Record of the Year in 1959.

Darin spent the early '60s playing nightclubs in Vegas and acting in movies (where he met his wife Sandra Dee); but nonetheless developed a strong social conscience. Before politically-aware performers were in vogue, Darin marched for civil rights and recorded protest songs, which he incorporated into his Vegas shows. "In some ways, Bobby's career mirrors the changes people went through in the 1960s and early '70s," Spacey says. In 1973, Darin died during open-heart surgery leaving behind an influential and diverse body of work.

Based in Burbank, California, Rhino Entertainment was founded in 1978 in Los Angeles. Beginning with novelty records, then branching into archival reissues and definitive anthologies and various-artists series, the company is recognized as the world's leading pop culture label. With a commitment to a superior experience for the consumer, Rhino packs its products with bonus tracks, informative liner notes, photos, and the best sounding audio possible. Rhino's Home Video division is home to everything from oddball cult films and classic TV programs to long-form live music performances and a line of action sports releases. Rhino is a part of the Warner Music Group. For more information, visit www.rhino.com

Lions Gate Entertainment is the leading, diversified independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, home entertainment, family entertainment, television programming and video-on-demand content, and its prolific and prestigious library of more than 8000 titles is the largest in the indie world. The distinctive Lions Gate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe. For more information, visit www.lionsgatepublicity.com.

Source: Rhino