Last week, Sony Pictures announced that it was removing Kevin Spacey from its upcoming release All the Money in the World. Due to the sexual harassment allegations that have been directed towards the actor, director Ridley Scott has hired Christopher Plummer to play J. Paul Getty in Spacey's place. Less than a week after this re-casting was made public, Plummer has spoken about coming aboard to All the Money in the World, saying that while the situation involving Spacey is "very sad," he's also looking forward to working with Scott, especially since he was originally being eyed to play Getty in the feature. Plummer said:
I admire Ridley Scott and I'm thrilled to be making a movie for him. And so I thought, that was it. Ages ago I was in contention for [the role], way back. So I was familiar with it, and then Ridley came to me and I agreed. I wanted to work with him. He's very good. I loved the script. The script is wonderful.
Because Sony is determined to have All the Money in the World hit its original December release date, Plummer will begin his reshoots on November 20, which will include him filming with Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams. The process has been moving incredibly quickly, as Plummer told Vanity Fair that Ridley Scott called him early last week to offer him the J. Paul Getty role. Plummer is currently promoting his new movie The Man Who Invented Christmas, but clearly the prospect of working with Scott on a movie that he'd been interested in years back was enough for him to clear some space on his schedule at the last minute. Sony isn't sparing any expense on these reshoots either, as the studio is reportedly spending over $10 million on this endeavor, which includes Plummer potentially fetching between $250,000 and $400,000 for his involvement.
Christopher Plummer joining All the Money in the World comes several weeks after Star Trek Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of making sexual advances towards him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Since then other allegations have been made public, and in addition to Spacey being removed from All the Money in the World, Netflix has also cut ties with him (although taking him off House of Cards will reportedly be a complicated process).
Based on the book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty, All the Money in the World will follow John Paul Getty III being kidnapped by a crime syndicate. After industrialist J. Paul Getty refuses to pay the ransom to free his grandson, the young Getty's mother, Gail Harris, joins forces with ex-CIA agent Fletcher Chase to free her son and attempt to change the elder Getty's mind.
All the Money in the World is still expected to hit theaters on December 22. Take a look through our 2017 premiere guide to see when the rest of the year's cinematic releases will arrive.
