Ridley Scott’s true crime drama All the Money in the World is facing fresh controversy over a massive gap in the payments given to co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams for re-shooting portions of the film.
According to a report in USA Today, Williams was paid less than one per cent of the amount given to Wahlberg to film parts with Christopher Plummer, who was called in to replace Kevin Spacey less than two months before the movie was to be released. The House of Cards actor was dropped from the production in November in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. After a nine-day re-shoot, the movie managed to meet its December 25 release date to stay in contention for the 2017-’18 awards season.
All the Money In the World is based on the 1973 kidnapping of billionaire oil tycoon John Paul Getty’s 16-year-old grandson. Plummer played the role of Getty, while Williams played his daughter-in-law Gail, who has to race against the clock to save her son with the help of the billionaire’s associate, a former intelligence officer (Wahlberg).
The film got three nominations at the 75th Golden Globe Awards – Best Director, Best Actress, Drama (Williams), and Best Supporting Actor (Plummer). While
People close to the production revealed to USA Today that Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million for nine days of shoot while Williams was paid $80 per day, adding up to less than $1,000.
Scott had earlier said that the cast had not charged extra to re-film the movie. The reshoots reportedly cost about $10 million, a fourth of the movie’s initial budget.
Neither Wahlberg nor Williams have commented on the reports about the pay difference.
The disparity was earlier highlighted in a Washington Post report in November, which claimed that Wahlberg had negotiated for, and received, a higher sum, while other cast members agreed to shoot for a modest amount.
The issue grabbed wider attention after several Hollywood celebrities tweeted about it after the Golden Globes Awards Ceremony on January 8 which had doubled up as a platform to talk about the #MeToo movement on sexual harassment and women’s empowerment.
Scott had earlier told The Guardian on January 5 that casting Plummer and removing Spacey was a “business decision” he had to make quickly because of the money that was at stake which could have an impact because of the Spacey scandal.
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