Musical Montage: R.E.M. “The Great Beyond”
Coming out in 1999 to coincide with the movie Man on the Moon, alternative rock superstars R.E.M. contributed “The Great Beyond” to the movie’s soundtrack. Jim Carrey starred in the film as Andy Kaufman and the movie explored the life and career of the legendary comedian. It wasn’t the first time R.E.M. were involved in something Kaufman related, as the band’s song “Man on the Moon” from 1992 was about Kaufman and the movie took its title from that song and featured it on the soundtrack as well. For the video, it features the band performing on a soundstage and watching footage from the movie in their downtime. The original music video features movie footage but later versions recut in actual footage of Andy Kaufman instead. Jim Carrey was invited to appear in the video in person but he refused, as he needed to psychologically distance himself from Kaufman after the demanding shoot for the movie, which was the basis for the documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond. The song was a hit in the UK and also hit #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can check out the video for “The Great Beyond” below.
