Beyond the Sea (film) intended to produce and direct a biopic based on the life of Bobby Darin with funding from his own production company, Baltimore Pictures. With writer Lewis Colick, Levinson pitched the idea to Warner Bros. Pictures, who agreed to co-finance "The Bobby Darin Story" and cover distribution duties. Producer Arthur Friedman, a fan of Darin's work, began to laboriously negotiate for crucial music 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 from Paul Attanasio and Paul Schrader. Their scripts, which
Beyond the Sea (film) to give an accurate portrayal of the singer. 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. Steve Blauner (who is portrayed by John Goodman in the film) also served as a historical consultant. Dodd originally considered Spacey's plan to sing his father's material a sacrilege, but eventually fell into sync with Spacey's deeply empathetic approach to Darin's life. Tom Epperson, who had struck up a friendship with Spacey while writing an early screenplay draft of