See the First Footage of Christopher Plummer Replacing Kevin Spacey in ‘All the Money in the World’
When the news broke that Christopher Plummer would replace Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World after the latter’s sexual assault scandal, we had a lot of questions. Would he be digitally added in or would Ridley Scott just reshoot his scenes? How much of the movie would Scott have to re-do? And how would he do it all and still keep the film’s opening date, December 22?
From the look of things, we shouldn’t have worried all that much. A new TV spot has been released, the first to feature Plummer’s footage, and it looks like a pretty seamless blend. From a standpoint based purely on craft, it’s fascinating to see the subtly different takes both of these actors had on one character: Plummer’s “No” when the press asks him if he’ll pay the ransom is a lot softer, and slightly creepier, than Spacey’s more emphatic reading of the line. Entertainment Weekly also debuted the first official photo of Plummer as J. Paul Getty.
The magazine spoke with Scott and the cast on the set of Plummer's reshoots, which wrap today. Michelle Williams, who plays J. Paul Getty’s daughter, and mother of the son who’s kidnapped and held for ransom, was stunned when she heard about the allegations against Spacey.
I’m so very proud to be a part of this — we’re all here for Ridley. When this idea was hatched, I immediately started to feel better. This doesn’t do anything to ease the suffering of people who were all too personally affected by Kevin Spacey, but it is our little act of trying to right a wrong. And it sends a message to predators — you can’t get away with this anymore. Something will be done.
Scott recalled making the decision to replace Spacey at the eleventh hour:
I was finished with the film and was in [U.K. recording studio] Abbey Road finalizing the music. Someone was like: Guess what? And that’s where it began. I sat and thought about it and realized, we cannot. You can’t tolerate any kind of behavior like that. And it will affect the film. We cannot let one person’s action affect the good work of all these other people. It’s that simple.
He also explained the process of replacing an actor in a movie this late in the game, and how lucky he was that everyone else was available to come back for some emergency “pickups.”
You have to know who you’re going to go for [to recast the role] and if he’s available. Chris [Plummer] was always on the list. So you find that out, but quietly, because you don’t want it going around. I flew into New York and met with [Plummer] and he said yes. So then we had to figure out if everyone else would be available to fit in these new days of shooting. Miraculously, they were. Before you can make the decision you have to make these quick phone calls around — not to the actors directly, but to the agents — saying there’s a possibility I may need some pickups [a.k.a. additional shooting days]. You don’t say why because of the gossip, but of course it was really for something much more significant.
Through it all, Scott seemed remarkably, even enviably, confident that he’d get it done in time. And, according to him, he already has.
I’ve done it. I’ve been shooting since Monday [Nov. 20] and in with the editor every night since then. We’re not dealing with celluloid anymore; it’s all digital, and I send [the footage each day] to [editor Claire Simpson] and she cuts it, and I can go in and look after shooting. Everything I’ve shot is already in [the final cut] up through yesterday morning.
Just in time to tour the awards circuit too. All the Money in the World opens on December 22.
Update: Sony released a new full-length trailer featuring Christopher Plummer today. See it here.