Ridley Scott and his team wowed the entertainment industry when they decided to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer in ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD. This came after Spacey was accused of several counts of sexual assault, and only a month and a half before the film’s release. However, the bold move came at a price, and apparently, Mark Wahlberg’s was WAY higher than anyone else’s, according to a new report.
In recent months, word was that Wahlberg was being paid substantially more than his co-star, Michelle Williams, for the 10 days of work on the reshoots, with no one knowing the exact figure. Now a new report from USA Today claims what Wahlberg was paid around $1.5 million for his reshoot work, while Williams was paid less than $1,000, according to several sources. This equates to Williams being paid less than 1% of Wahlberg, or, if you prefer, Wahlberg being paid 1500x what Williams was. Go with whatever ghastly figure grabs you more.
Reports that Wahlberg was being paid a lot (A LOT) more than Williams began circulating in November when The Washington Post broke a story that claimed Wahlberg was being paid about $2 million for his work. Imperative Entertainment financed all the reshoots costs of WORLD, which was in the ballpark of $10 million, and Ridley Scott told USA Today last month that all the actors did the work “for nothing.”
Both Wahlberg and Williams are represented by the same agency – William Morris Endeavor – and actors pay roughly 10% of their wages for the agencies to advocate for them on their behalf (including matters of salary). So far, no one for either actors, Scott, WME, Sony or Imperative has made a comment on the matter.
The movie was met with great reviews and the film was nominated for three Golden Globes, including Best Director (Scott), Best Actress (Williams) and Best Supporting Actor for Plummer. However, the movie hasn’t taken off at the box office, so far making a little over $20 million at the box office.
Celebrities including Jessica Chastain, Judd Apatow and Billy Eichner and more voiced their disapproval over the news on Twitter, with some taking it as an opportunity make note that Williams is the one getting all the attention for her work:
As of August, Wahlberg was listed by Forbes as the highest paid actor of the year, making $68 million dollars before taxes and fees.