Kevin Spacey Replaced / Removed From "All the Money in the World"
Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 11:56AM by Ben Miller
a performance that will be erased -- Kevin Spacey in "All the Money in the World"
On Wednesday night, I was talking to my wife about All the Money in the World. The upcoming thriller from director Ridley Scott features the true story of billionaire J. Paul Getty and his involvement with the kidnappers of his grandson. I brought it up because (alleged) serial sexual harasser Kevin Spacey was set to play Getty.
My discussion focused on how unfair it was to Scott, stars Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, and especially young Charlie Plummer, who is poised for a breakout role as the aforementioned kidnapped grandson. Just because Spacey is a terrible human doesn’t mean the people involved in a production should suffer.
The backlash from Spacey’s allegations was swift...
The AFI Fest announcing on Monday they were pulling All the Money in the World from their closing night premiere schedule. The film was still set to be released on its December 22 date, but the buzz for the film had fallen off a cliff. Many pundits had slotted Spacey in as a potential Best Supporting Actor nominee for the film (Nathaniel had him as a potential back-up), but as soon as the allegations started pouring in, there were tweets like this one.
Part of the talk about Spacey in the film was his performance. What if it was revelatory? How good would he have to be to even break back into the Oscar conversation? Is there no level? Why do we give some artists a pass for past sins while immediately vilifying Spacey? There is a momentous can of worms that can be opened with this discussion.
30 minutes after our discussion, the news broke that Scott will replace Spacey with Oscar-winner Christopher Plummer in the film.
All the Money in the World is still planning on hitting its Christmas week opening. Scott said he will reshoot all of Spacey’s scenes with Plummer while Williams and Wahlberg are coming back in for said reshoots. It will be like Spacey never worked on the film.
This is a really big deal.
This venture of erasing Spacey cannot be cheap. Supposedly, he only worked on the film for eight days and many of his scenes were by himself, but the scenes from the trailer show the deserts of Jordan and the mansions of Italy. Scott and his producers must have realized how DOA the film will be with Spacey still attached. Plus, the director actually gets his way; he wanted Plummer in the first place, but was overruled by the producers who wanted a bigger name in the role.
This signals something profound to Hollywood. Producers and directors can be silenced from films they worked on because they were behind the scenes. Actors have the luxury of being the face of those films. With this announcement, the world has shown that no one is above being replaced, no matter the cost.
Spacey's next picture "Billionaire Boy's Club" is currently in post-production. The film stars Jeremy Irvine, Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton, Thomas Cocquerel and more...
Spacey’s career is in serious jeopardy (by his own hand). Netflix announced the cancellation of his Gore Vidal biopic, while the only other upcoming film is Billionaire Boys Club. Could the new production company Armory Films do the same thing Scott did?
I see this as a best case scenario for the film. This announcement may be a cloud that hangs over the release, but for once in Hollywood, the right thing is being done.
Reader Comments (76)
You raise a point that I think applies to this film/choice specifically - "Why do we give some artists a pass for past sins while immediately vilifying Spacey?" This decision suggests Ridley Scott isn't okay with Spacey, but he is fine with Wahlberg's history of violence.
Hollywood is in for some interesting times as these lines are drawn.
They're re-shooting 8 days worth of work and they still want to open in 6 weeks? I don't really see how that's possible but good luck to them.
That question, ohh girl. That’s a can of worms to be opened. It makes me curious whether Nathaniel is still on his ‘seperate art from the artist buzz’ - re Casey Affleck. Not much bothers me here aside from 3rtful but nathaniel’s consistent defence of that point (and Subsequent posts about the downfall of Kevin Spacey) genuinely upset and confused me - as it was such a strange perspective from a writer I have so much respect for.
This example is what needs to happen in Hollywood - thank god for Ridley Scott! More of this please.
Niiiiice. Wouldn't surprise me if Plummer got a BSA Oscar nomination now, regardless of the quality of the performance!
Hmm. Billionaires Boys Club seems awful anyway. Do we really need more movies that claim to condemn but often implicitly glorify these types of characters?
The swiftness of the condemnation sure is puzzling compared to similar cases. Are men’s accusations of abuse inherently more valid? Can of worms indeed.
Mark Wahlberg is a terrible human being too..
I don't like Wahlberg as an actor or a person, but in his case, the incidents of violence occurred when he was relatively young and an addict and were addressed via the criminal justice system. A just society should not punish ex-felons for acts committed in the early 1990s and before once they've served their time.
Spacey appears to have repeatedly assaulted and harassed people from the mid-1980s up to the present day, without consequence until the last week or so.
I'm really glad Ridley is doing this. The movie sounds fascinating and I'd like to see it. I'm doubly interested now, given that replacing Spacey will be a technical achievement.
Exacly Catbaskets. Two time Oscar Winner Spacey's career is totally destroyed. No coming back. His downfall has been immediate.
At the same time, Polanski wins Oscars and his films open and close highly-respected festivals, actors and actresss get in LINE to work with Allen for very Little money, Mel Gibson makes a comeback, Affleck Will present Best Actress next year.
After all, these Men were abusing women. Spacey was abusing Men. Apparently, its a far worse crime to abuse Men, and abusing women os not worthy oficial the same punishment.
Abusing women is not worthy of the same punishment. Damm auto-corrector.
Of course Nathaniel Will be more supportive of This, because Spacey has been abusing BOYS for Years.
Eh, I'm more interested in the technical/timing challenge of this whole thing. They're certainly going to get more eyeballs watching this thing just to see if they can detect the reshoots/stitching of the first movie with the second.
Oh, and Christopher Plummer would have been my first choice too!
I'm amazed how quickly Spacey has been judged, up to now it has been one sided apart from an ill advised press release. However, his actions are still only alleged. At what point did innocent until proven guilty become he's definitely guilty. Some of the accusations against Spacey are criminal, where will he find an unbiased jury? Why was he never stopped, surely he wasn't that powerful, has he ever been a box-office draw? I totally agree, if what seems to have been an open secret in Hollywood, is true, then the boys and men he is alleged to have abused deserve justice. The process at the moment just does not seem fair.
Joe I would argue that on the set of House of Cards (producer / main star of the show that is all about his character) he was very powerful. Similarly (but less so) with his tenure at the Old Vic (two time Oscar winner and large celebrity as artistic director).
It's clear that the producers in this case realized that the film would be DOA at the box office if they didn't act and made the financial decision to spend money on re-shoots / re-casting in order to recover the budget of the film.
Has there beyond allegations been any proof that any of this happened,that's what Judy would want.
In the UK your innocent till proven guilty,unfortunatley an MP has just taken his own life over here in the UK leaving 2 children and a wife without even knowing what he was accused of or by whom,it could've been a bad thing it could've been something slight.
If this is all true about Spacey and i'm not a fan of his and is found to be true through "Evidence" or him Confessing then he deserves all that comes his way but everything is specualtion,rumour,subjective,accusatory and the rest.
Are we all to live behind glass shields in future just in case.
They're re-shooting 8 days worth of work and they still want to open in 6 weeks? I don't really see how that's possible but good luck to them.
Since the whole thing was shot digitally the insertion of new material into the existing body of the movie will be seamless.
This is about making sure the film doesn't die a death because of allegations against Kevin Spacey, who is a small part of it. Whether innocent or guilty, and particularly in the current climate, the film is dead while Kevin Spacey is attached to it. That's just how it is.
Scott has made the right decision so that instead of loads of people's hard work being thrown down the drain, the film can be appreciated on its own merit without being dragged down (box office and Oscar wise) by a scandal out of the filmmaker's hands.
Why can't they just randomly turn the whole thing into a musical and get someone to redub his lines? If they did it to Lina Lamont, they can certainly do it to Kevin Spacey.
A few things:
1. How is Kevin Spacey a bigger name than Christopher Plummer?
2. Frequency + Severity matters. Spacey, Weinstein, and Cosby have been ostracized (maybe even prosecuted) due to the frequency and severity of their transgressions. The jury is still out on the Afflecks; I have a feeling Casey will be the next shoe to drop. Regardless of what the academy says right now I think there's a good chance he's absent on Oscar night.
3. Time served + perceived rehabilitation matters. Gibson stayed out of the spotlight for several years and is widely-perceived to be remorseful and "changed". Maybe the same with Wahlberg, I'm not as familiar with his issues.
4. Polanski and Allen seem to be protected, at least for now, within the industry due to their iconic filmmaker status. This must be the case, because Brett Ratner and the other guy (can't remember his name) are finished. But we're post-Weinstein now, so who knows how long this will last. More allegations against either of them will turn the public's eye.
This consistent ratcheting up of allegations and hysteria and backlash is unsustainable. Perspective needed.
Sawyer, I dont get It either. Plummer is One of the last remaining living legends. And, he is actually old enough to play the part without the need to resort to prosthetic make-up.
Maybe its because of House of Cards.
He did host the Tonys Just months Ago.
There were two Very recent allegations about Polanski. One involving a TEN YEAR OLD girl. Yes, ten Years old. Pre-puberty. Younger than any id Spacey's victims.
I see no outrage.
To be honest: it's laughable. Really. Who cares what Spacey did or did not? If judges and courts want to send him to jail than send him but it doesn't mean that he's a bad actor and that Netflix should fire him from "House of Cards" or that he has to be replaced by Plummer in Scott's movie.
And what exactly has he done? He was seducing Rapp when Rapp was almost 15 and Spacey was drunk (I've heard that even Rapp admits that he looked like he was drunk). And this is the most serious allegation against him (what actually isn't an allegation at all - drunk man wants to kiss a young man - yeah, I know that he wasn't 15 at that time but Spacey did not have to know this, did he?).
And apart from that? He touched THIGHS of Richard Dreyfuss' son. OH MY GOD!!! SO SHOCKING! :) And all other accussers say things that sounds the same. It looks to me that Spacey has some problems with his sexuality but it's his private problem - and it is not a reason to destroy his career.
I have to admit that I think that Spacey is the only real victim of this situation. And yeah, I'm bored by all this #MeToo nonsense.
"How is Kevin Spacey a bigger name than Christopher Plummer?"
I vastly prefer Plummer even notwithstanding the allegations, but I get it. Spacey is on a tv show that, while terrible, gets a lot of press, loves to mug for the cameras and talk shows, and must be better known to the casual filmgoer. The sad thing is that someone with Scott's career can't select the cast he wants in Hollywood. The Martian was a huge hit just two years ago.
I'm personally watching these events with Spacey unfold with great interest. I'm not trivializing the trauma that the alleged victims are stating, but the idea that this may be considered pedophilia. As far as I know, there have been no allegations against Spacey involving anyone pre-pubescent, yet the label pedophile has been given to Spacey because he came on to a 14-year old Anthony Rapp. 14 years old may seem too young for sex to our society today but human history might say otherwise. At what age is a person considered attractive to other adults? 15? 16? 17? Or is it that magic moment a person turns 18 that their bodies are now available for other adults to have impure thoughts about?
Spacey is a pig. Maybe a predator. But a pedophile? Let's be careful, especially in a year when we're celebrating a film about the sexual awakening of a 17 year old boy.
"She's only 17. Her daddy says she's too young, but she's old enough for meeeee."
Yes, Someone. It shows a Double standard. Convicted serial rapist Polanski is being lauded in film festivals around the world.
@Someone Do a little bit of research before coming off like such an ape. You probably hated Ghostbusters and voted against Hillary. Just a guess...
Also, looks like the other shoe is about to drop for Louis CK
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/louis-cks-movie-premiere-canceled-advance-ny-times-story-1056585
"Yes, Someone. It shows a Double standard. Convicted serial rapist Polanski is being lauded in film festivals around the world."
And that's good because Polanski is one of the greatest directors of all time. Even if he was sent to jail now this fact (his greatness) would not change and he still would deserve all love and fame in the world.
@Ben: Yeah, I hated "Ghostbusters" because it was one of the worst movies of last year so sure: I don't like bad movies.
I'm not from USA so I did not vote for Trump or Clinton (but I would vote for Clinton if I could so...).
I'll never forget what that piece of shit of Mark Wahlberg did. He should be replaced in everything too (and he's an even worse actor than Spacey). And everytime he opens his mouth it feels like he should be punched and kicked in the throat repeteadly.
Well, Denzel would definitley win the oscar over Aflleck this year
Well, Someone, if you think serial rapist Polanski, who drugged, raped and sodomized an unconcious 13 year old among other victims deserves ALL the love in the world, you are part of the problem.
Polanski did not rape anybody. It's not his fault that sex with the underaged girls is called rape in Californian law.
And yeah, maybe I'm the part of the problem but IMO it would be utterly stupid to say that he does not deserve respect he receives for his movies.
That being said:first stories about Weinstein's behaviour were big (not all of them - some were as light and laughable as those about Spacey but the rape allegatons are big). But when I read that Dustin Hoffman has said a stupid joke 40 years ago and that someone found it so shocking that many years later must tell about it on Facebook on Twitter than... well, what can I think? Only that people of the left are sometimes as stupid as those of the right. He said a joke - it was stupid but the times were different. Live with it!
I'm gay so I know that it's not easy to live in the patriarchal world. Especially in a conservative country. But would I write on Facebook about every homophobic joke I've heard or every homophobic word that was used against me? No, because I'm more intelligent than this. You have to understand the context, the intentions of your interlocutor, the situation etc. You can't disgrace anybody who did the wrong thing. It's not for social media to decide who should be punished or not. And surely Dreyfuss' son has lived with the fact that he was touched by a man (to be honest - if he was touched by a heterosexual man [even in the same manner] he would not say anything but the fact that he was touched by a gay man is the reason for him to call Spacey a predator and claim that he was sexually harassed - isn't it the new type of homophobia? Just asking.)
I don't think Mark Wahlberg is a terrible person. Yeah, he did some bad things when he was young but he owned up to it. Plus, he's managed to do some good as an adult and not do the things that Kevin Spacey and Charlie Sheen have done.
Plus, I like the guy. He's humble and doesn't take himself seriously.
Suzanne, true. I guess if the billing listed Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, and Capt. Von Trapp it would be different.
He did not rape? He DRUGGED her. She was UNCONCIOUS. She COULD NOT consent.
There were OTHER victims. ..
I'm out if This conversation.
Someone, My understanding of the Polanski case is that Statutory Rape was the plea deal but there was no consent so the crime was really rape. The plea deal to the statutory rape charge is why he can't be extradited from countries that do not have an equivalent criminal offense.
I find myself less able to condemn Polanski given his history including growing up in Nazi occupied Poland and having his pregnant wife murdered by Manson Gang. This would lead a person to have twisted views on society, authority and life.
I am not saying ignore Polanski's past, remind him and the world what happened and show that all abusers are not exactly alike.
"There were OTHER victims. .."
There were other accusers - it does not mean that there were other victims People lie.
And how do you know that she was uncounsious, Amanda? You were in bed with them that night?
Woman wants this case to end. She forgave Polanski. And in more civilised countries than the USA there is a thing like expiration of the crime - and this happened 40 years ago!
Movie news usually doesn't surprise me, but this did in a big way. Has this ever happened before? I want to say that something like this is unprecedented, especially considering it is so close to the release date.
I had no interest in this before but if the reviews are decent I think I will give it a shot. And in the wake of the current social climate, I'm assuming a lot of other people - who perhaps before today had no interest in this whatsoever - will be seeing it now as a show of gratitude to the filmmakers.
What if they film Plummer's face and put it on Spacey's face digitally?
Shame on you producers.
Why not cast Plummer in the goddamn first place?! He is a legendary Oscar winner plus NO NEED FOR THE OLD MAKEUP!
This has become a witch hunt of epic proportions- is there ANY ACTUAL PROOF of Spacey's crime- there have been to many previous cases of people accused of rape or child abuse which later turned out to be false. But in the public's eye Spacey is already a convicted pedophile even though his latest victim is 18 years old. The victim's mother gave an Oscar worthy performance on how they waited a YEAR to report the crime because you know this is what you do when your 18 year old son goes to a bar with a man old enough to be his father for drinks and the man ends up grabbing his dick. Spacey does seem to have self destructive streak- I mean he is rich enough to get his thrills in a more discreet fashion. The studio might erase him from the movie but how are they going to deal with the publicity- because let's face it's going to come up.
Were you, Someone, in bed with them?
Did you ever read anything about This case?
Have you read WHY she wants This story to be over?
How do you know the accusers are lying? What makes you think so?
You are a disgusting human being.
ombog, amanda, and others -- i did not write this post. says so at the top. I've only written one post about the allegations against Spacey.
yes i am still 'separate art from artists'. there's no other way to do it unless you want to do background checks of all people involved in every piece of art you watch and since 100s of people are involved with every stage production, film, or tv show, good luck with that. Plus you'd have to throw out basically 80% of past art.I value art too much to be that much of a baby about it. I'm an adult. i can separate people's personal lives from their work. I can watch Rosemary's Baby and know it's a masterpiece and still think Polanski committed a terrible crime. but in Spacey and Weinstein's case I'm glad Hollywood is cleaning house because no one should have to work in a hostile environment. People dont seem to understand that crimes which occur at work are the only kind of crimes that work places have any jurisdiction over and can control. As far as i know no one has ever complained about their treatment on the set of a Polanski picture but Hollywood should and can stop behavior like Weinsteins and Spaceys from happening.
everyone -- it's November 9th so to reshoot all the scenes and integrate them with vfx and editing and all that and still open on the 22nd seems like a herculean task to me too. the part must have actually been really small.
I wish I could locate a very detailed article I read a few years back about Mia Farrow's allegations against Woody Allen. It was very well documented and did not shed a very positive light on Ms Farrow. It was a a strong attack on her credibility and on the fact that -at the time of the alleged events- her daughter was very young, impressionable and likely to be influenced and coached. And, let's face it. All of this coming from a woman who has confessed that Ronan Farrow may not actually be Woody Allen's son, but rather Frank Sinatra's! She was cuckolding Allen with Sinatra who, in turn, was cuckolding his wife, Barbara Marx. I know I am sounding like a prude, but you need only look at a photo of Ronan and you know who the father is. I also know this last bit has nothing to do with the alleged abuse, but I believe Allen and think a disgruntled Farrow was getting at him for his relationship with her adopted daughter.
the whole MeToo has been blown way out of proportions - sick of hearing about it - some of the incidents are so minor it's ridiculous.
and the Spacey witch hunt is way out of line - at least get some proof first.
All of you screaming "lynch Spacey" - I'm sure you will be oh so forgiving towards
Jeffrey Tambor, who's now being accused of sexual harassment:
"I'm sure it's a mistake, I don't believe he would do something like that" etc etc.
Double standard, because Tambor, unlike Spacey, comes across so likable, ever since being on Transparent and speaking about Transgenders on award shows etc.
But neither men should be hung out to dry
by the media or by the biz
before any evidence has come to light -
not likable Tambor, not unlikable Spacey either.
Oh no, not Matthew Weiner!!
I was so looking forward to his The Romanoffs with Chirstina Hendricks and Isabelle Huppert!
Please don't get cancelled!
I'm glad tt Christopher Plummer is finally playing the grandfather o Charlie Plummer 😂
Marcos, I agree. I read as much as I could get on all the investigative pieces, and it all points to your conclusion. It's astute. I believe Allen is innocent.
Okay, back on topic... I actually think this was a brilliant move whether or not they actually meet the 12/22 release. First of all, like many have said, the film was already DOA with Spacey. I saw the trailer at a theater last weekend and people BOO'd at Spacey's name. The movie was toxic because Spacey was connected to it.
So while this whole thing is probably going to cost $$$ and time and lots of headaches, they really didn't have any other choices. Plus all the press they're getting now about the absurdity of the task and timeline is great press. I personally went from "Maybe I'll see this on Netflix" before the Spacey allegations to "Yeah, I probably won't watch this at all" after and now its... "Okay, let's see this opening weekend, Scott, you bastard!"
Hope the final film lives up to all the unexpected buzz now.
@Amanda: "You are a disgusting human being."
Why exactly? Because I'm a decent person and I understand that people make mistakes?
And I know quite a lot about this case. I'm pretty sure that more than you do.