Kevin Spacey Replaced / Removed From "All the Money in the World"

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...

Click to read more ...

YNMS: "All The Money In The World"

Chris here. This year is going to have quite a bit of late breaking Oscar hopefuls based on fact, including Steven Spielberg's The Post (is that what it's called today?) and maybe a Clint Eastwood film about a true life thwarted terrorist attack in France. Ridley Scott is looking to quickly bounce back from the tepid response to Alien: Covenant with a real story of his own that wrapped a mere month ago: All the Money In The World. The film follows the famous Getty kidnapping and cruel patriarch J. Paul Getty's refusal to fork out the ransom dough.

Don't expect to hear "unrecognizable" dubbed just to Gary Oldman this year for Darkest Hour - this film is going hard on selling/taunting us Kevin Spacey as the billionaire in heavy prosthetics. We'll see if this ends up being a supporting or lead actor play, but might the film have awards chances elsewhere? Is it enough of a showcase for Michelle Williams to break through a stacked Best Actress race as the mother of the kidnapped younger Getty?

The film is set to close AFI Fest and opens December 8. Take a look at the new trailer and we'll break down the Yes No Maybe So...

Click to read more ...

Actor Chart Updates: Who will repeat?

Having just had a lively discussion about Best Actress and Supporting Actress possibilities, let us turn our attention to the men.

Though I'm not currently predicting any women from last year's 20 honored thespians to repeat this year, it's not uncommon for that to happen. So let's try out a Denzel Washington post-Fences prediction and see how it feels. He's headling Roman Israel, Esq. a Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler) picture about a lawyer in crisis and conflict with his new law firm. Colin Farrell co-stars. The film was called Inner City during filmmaking but now goes by the name of Denzel's character. The film takes place in the 1970s so Denzel has a fro!

1970s are popular in cinema this year. Also working early 1970s looks this year are the stars of two true stories. Spielberg's The Papers is already causing a buzzy stir. Less discussed but also scheduled to open this season is the Ridley Scott drama All the Money in the World about the famous kidnapping of a young man from a wealthy family (busy actor Charlie Plummer). Kevin Spacey is the grandfather billionaire who won't pay the ransom, Michelle Williams is the mother, and Mark Wahlberg is a CIA operative but it's tough to know who is lead or supporting or whatnot since it sounds like an ensemble picture. Incidentally the role played by Michelle Williams was originally offered to Angelina Jolie and then they sought out Natalie Portman. It's tough to know what they were looking for for that role (beyond stardom) because those three actresses have such different onscreen personas and talents.

Both of these movies could easily be something closer to box office hopefuls than gold-statue hunters given their mainstream stars and plots but you never know with holiday season releases. Check out the updated charts and report back...

ACTOR CHART UPDATES
Denzel & Daniel & Tom (all multiple Oscar winners!) on the rise
SUPPORTING CHART UPDATES 
A ton of movement here since we still know relatively nothing about what might happen in this category yet. Upward movement for mother!'s Javier Bardem, Call Me By Your Name's Michael Stuhlbarg, and Dunkirk star Fionn Whitehead who will next be seen in a big role opposite Emma Thompson in The Children Act.