Replacing an actor in a film just one month before its release is not standard operating procedure when it comes to making a hit. But that’s exactly what happened in Ridley Scott’s latest offering, All the Money in the World. The decision was made to reshoot all scenes featuring Kevin Spacey following allegations made against him. He was replaced by Canadian actor, Christopher Plummer. Film lecturer Tony Tracy joined Kay Sheehy on Arena to talk about the swap.
Much has been made of this reshoot, Tony told Kay. It seems the focus has fallen on the action behind the scenes rather than on-screen. But Tony doesn’t think the reality was as dramatic as it may seem.
“‘Unprecedented’ is a word that gets used again and again in discussions of this. But, in fact, it turns out, if you kind of look it up a little or, you know, read between the lines a little, it probably wasn’t as audacious as it seems.”
Tony explained that most of the shoots featuring Spacey were filmed on location, rather than a set that would have been dismantled after the film was complete. This was one reason the re-shoot was relatively smooth. That and Plummer’s expediency, of course.
“You hear [Ridley] Scott talking about [how] it was supposed to be 24 or 25 days. This shoot took 9 days…It’s probably not as much of a technical marvel as was suggested or perhaps even anticipated.“
The public’s verdict remains to be seen but according to Tony, the film’s director has already made his approval known.
“[Ridley Scott has] played up the fact that although Spacey’s given a very good performance, Plummer’s performance is really excellent and really well-suited to the role.”
Listen back to the whole segment on All the Money in the World on Arena here.