Director successfully navigates crisis
Scott hasn’t heard from Spacey since the actor was replaced as J. Paul Getty
Director Ridley Scott says he hasn’t heard from Kevin Spacey since the decision was made to cut the actor from All the Money in the World.
“I don’t know where he is,” Scott said in a recent interview. “He’s gone down underground.”
All the Money in the World is about the 1973 kidnapping of the teenage grandson of wealthy U.S. industrialist J. Paul Getty.
The film was completed in October, with Spacey cast as Getty. After sexual misconduct allegations were made against the actor, Spacey was cut from the movie. Canadian actor Christopher Plummer stepped into the role. Reshoots began almost immediately.
While promoting the movie over the weekend, Scott said “it would have been nice to have some kind of call, even if it was from his (Spacey’s) representative.” Now, he said, “It’s just too late.” Plummer agreed — “I was very anxious to work with Ridley anyway,” he said. “I took the script home. The next morning, I called, said, ‘Yes. Absolutely. Let’s go.’”
To get the movie ready for its Dec. 25 release date, Scott had to raise additional funds and rearrange cast and crew members for reshoots. After that, Scott recalls spending the next 36 hours on the phone figuring out the logistics needed to get the reshoots done. Scott said Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, the other stars of the film, responded quickly.
“They were all ready. Michelle said, ‘I’ll do it.’ She might have been in the middle of a film,” Scott said. “Mark was needed for a day and a half.”
The entire reshoot took nine days.
“Obviously, the most important thing was respecting the victims in this case. You know, whether there are allegations or not — there were many — and it’s important to make sure that was dealt with with the respect and sensitivity that it deserved. Many people have been replaced in films many times, including films that I’ve been involved with on both sides of the spectrum. So those kind of things happen, but it was a decision that Ridley made and we all certainly supported him in that decision,” said Wahlberg, who also attended the film’s première.
Part of the rush to finish the film was self-imposed: Danny Boyle’s FX series Trust, also about the Getty kidnapping, debuts next month, so Scott felt he had to meet the original release date.
Plummer credits Scott’s easy demeanour with getting everyone through the mad dash.
“He has a delicious sense of humour and that’s what kept me — gave me such confidence and calmed everything down on the set. It was wonderful,” he said.
Plummer also showed he could poke fun at the situation. During the promotional interviews for the movie, he brought a cake that depicted him playing all the roles behind the camera.
Plummer’s version of Getty will be the only one anyone ever sees. At the film’s première Monday night, Scott said he wouldn’t release a director’s cut with Spacey’s work.
“Over my dead body. No,” Scott said. “I don’t think that would be very graceful. There’s a great word called grace, right? So I wouldn’t do that, no.”