Swimming with Sharks

UPC: 031398683735

Studio: Lions Gate

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Originally screened at Telluride as The Buddy Factor, Swimming With Sharks is an uneven but engrossing picture, and a possible warning to anyone with plans to break into the motion-picture business. When Guy (Frank Whaley), a recent film-school graduate with big ideas, takes a job as assistant to major studio executive Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey), he believes his ship has finally come in; little does he know it's a slave ship, for his boss is indeed worse than a slave driver. Buddy delights in abusing his boy-toy (exemplified by the scene in which he forbids Guy to go to the bathroom as he pours water back and forth from a glass to a pitcher). Meanwhile, Guy struggles to push his idea for a script and feels he's finally made it when Buddy congratulates him on a job well done. However, much to his chagrin, his conniving boss actually takes sole credit for the project, pushing the young assistant to wit's end -- he breaks into Buddy's Beverly Hills showplace and takes him hostage, then proceeds to torture him in a number of demeaning and horrifying ways. The whole film stands as a sort of parable about the value system in Hollywood and the cost of reaching the top; it doesn't play like real life, but it's not supposed to. The real reason to watch the film, however, is Spacey's performance. He manages at once to be terrifying, hateful, and hilarious, and he makes Buddy Ackerman a character the audience won't soon forget. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actor (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival

Swimming with Sharks

Format: DVD

Release Date: 08/12/1998

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard, 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DDS2.0 Dolby Digital w/ 4 channels

Runtime: 93 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Chapters: Side #1 -- Full Screen
0. Chapters
1. Main Credits [4:04]
2. Pages [2:43]
3. Payback [2:52]
4. Day One [4:04]
5. Buddy [3:23]
6. Details [5:05]
7. Week One [3:00]
8. Pitch [3:15]
9. Needs [5:05]
10. Relationships [3:31]
11. Unavailable [6:29]
12. Paper Cuts [3:07]
13. Month One [3:36]
14. Loss [2:52]
15. Bad Luck [3:41]
16. Cyrus [3:13]
17. Graduation [3:46]
18. Ex-wife [4:00]
19. Year One [2:56]
20. Instant [4:17]
21. Weakness [4:17]
22. Choices [5:43]
23. Promotion [4:11]
24. End Credits [3:38]
Side #2 -- Wide Screen
0. Chapters
1. Main Credits [4:04]
2. Pages [2:43]
3. Payback [2:52]
4. Day One [4:04]
5. Buddy [3:23]
6. Details [5:05]
7. Week One [3:00]
8. Pitch [3:15]
9. Needs [5:05]
10. Relationships [3:31]
11. Unavailable [6:29]
12. Paper Cuts [3:07]
13. Month One [3:36]
14. Loss [2:52]
15. Bad Luck [3:41]
16. Cyrus [3:13]
17. Graduation [3:46]
18. Ex-wife [4:00]
19. Year One [2:56]
20. Instant [4:17]
21. Weakness [4:17]
22. Choices [5:43]
23. Promotion [4:11]
24. End Credits [3:38]

Michael Hastings

Writer/director George Huang's vitriolic 1994 debut is perhaps most notable for the blistering, caustic turn by Kevin Spacey as remorseless studio executive Buddy Ackerman. Spacey's Buddy is a different kind of Hollywood monster: physically compact and unusually soft-spoken, he's like a seething volcano that erupts only sporadically, when people least expect it. Spacey has the good sense to underplay the role, rendering Buddy's actions and demands all the more horrific. The conclusion -- in which Buddy's meek underling Guy (Frank Whaley) exacts revenge -- is a bit of a letdown, since Guy can't dream up anything more sinister than blatant physical abuse. For Spacey, the role would be one of a handful of standout performances in independent features, including his Oscar-winning role in The Usual Suspects the next year. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Patrick Fisher  Actor 
Jay Cohen  Executive Producer 
Stephen Alexander  Producer 
Tom Hiel  Composer (Music Score) 
George Huang  Director 
George Huang  Screenwriter 
Stephen Israel  Executive Producer 
Joanne Moore  Producer 
Louis Nader  Producer 
Kevin Spacey  Actor 
Frank Whaley  Actor 
Michelle Forbes  Actor 
Benicio Del Toro  Actor 
Jerry Levine  Actor 
Roy Dotrice  Actor 
T.E. Russell  Actor 

Country: USA