Beyond the Sea (film) project." Desson Thomson from "The Washington Post" praised the actor's work, but also felt Spacey did not convincingly portray Darin in his early music career. Internet reviewer James Berardinelli found the storyline to be overtly clichéd, but added, "Despite the choppy narrative and inappropriate casting of Spacey, "Beyond the Sea" managed to keep me entertained." Roger Ebert gave a largely positive review, stating that, "Kevin Spacey believes he was born to play Bobby Darin. I believe he was born to play more interesting characters... In his own best work, Spacey has achieved genius; he is better as an actor than
Bobby Darin one of the twentieth century's greatest entertainers. Fans paid for the star. Darin also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On December 13, 2009, at its 2010 Grammy Awards ceremony, the Recording Academy awarded Darin a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1986, director Barry Levinson intended to direct a film based on Darin's life, and had begun preproduction on the project by early 1997. He abandoned the project, the rights to which were subsequently bought by actor Kevin Spacey, along with Darin's son, Dodd. The resultant biopic, "Beyond the Sea", starred Spacey as Darin, with the actor