After the very serious allegations which have been directed towards Kevin Spacey in the past few weeks, there was a question of just what would happen with ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, Ridley Scott's upcoming film which chronicles the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III and the refusal of his grandfather (Kevin Spacey) to pay the ransom for his release. ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD was set to debut at the American Film Institute Fest next week, but was later pulled from the festival, which didn't exactly solve the problem of what to do with the film. Now, Ridley Scott has made the rather unprecedented move to head back into production and reshoot all of Kevin Spacey's scenes, thereby scrubbing him from the film.
Deadline reports that Christopher Plummer will be stepping in to fill the role of J. Paul Getty. The descision to replace Kevin Spacey came about when the cast and crew of the film, as well as Sony Pictures, unanimously agreed to reshoot all of Spacey's scenes. Those reshoots are expected to begin right away, as Ridley Scott seems determined to keep the film's release date. As Kevin Spacey only shot about eight-to-ten days on the film, it shouldn't be a huge ordeal to reshoot those sequences, but even given how quickly Ridley Scott shoots, it will still be a challenge to rework the newly shot scenes into the film as well as redo all the marketing. Making a film is a hugely collaborative process, and it would have been a shame to have seen the hard work of hundreds of individuals tainted by the scandal. Christopher Plummer will certainly be a great addition to the film, and, according to THR, he was actually Ridley Scott's first choice for the role before top studio executives vetoed him in favour of a bigger name.
The official synopsis for ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD:
All The Money In The World follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Kevin Spacey) to pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money.
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD is still set for a December 22, 2017 release.