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
Kevin Spacey of Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's Broadway hit "Lost in Yonkers". Spacey's father was unconvinced that Spacey could make a career for himself as an actor, and did not change his mind until Spacey became well-known. Some of Spacey's early roles include a widowed, eccentric millionaire on "L.A. Law", the television miniseries "The Murder of Mary Phagan" (1988), opposite Lemmon, and the comedy "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" (1989). He earned a fan base after playing the criminally insane arms dealer Mel Profitt on the television series "Wiseguy". He quickly developed a reputation as a character actor, and was