It wouldn’t be the awards season without controversy and there’s plenty to go around. The chances for “The Disaster Artist” making an impression at the Oscars look finished due to the allegations that have emerged against James Franco. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott‘s “All The Money In The World” — which had skipped one potential liability by replacing Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer at the last minute — looks like it may be embroiled in the conversation about gender equity in Hollywood.
It has recently emerged that Mark Wahlberg took home a staggering $1.5 million for just over a week of work on the reshoots for Scott’s film, while the film’s lead Michelle Williams, worked for peanuts — a reported $80/day. We can talk about which actor is “more valuable” another time (and frankly, that’s not really the point in this case, particularly when the general spirit was to fix a movie spoiled by the criminal actions of one of its stars with weeks to go before its release) but no matter where you land on the issue, that pay gap is ridiculous and unfair.
None of the people involved with “All The Money In The World” have gone on the record about the issue, but according to TMZ, Scott feels “betrayed” by Wahlberg. The director spent the press tour for the film saying that the ensemble essentially worked for free during the Thanksgiving holiday to get the movie done. Scott reportedly wasn’t told about the salary negotiations with the actors, and was left with the impression everyone was working for nothing. As for Wahlberg, he apparently “never” works for free, and his reps forced the hands of the financiers to meet his demands. Again, if this is true, it’s not a particularly great look for Wahlberg.
Meanwhile, Scott addressed what might happen with the scrapped Kevin Spacey footage from “All The Money In The World” in an interview with KCRW’s “The Business.”
“Who knows? The world is a strange place. In ten years time somebody might want to see it. That would be up to [producer] Dan [Friedkin] to say so. And I think you wait for this to clear, before you even think about that,” the director said.
Wise words, and there’s likely much more to come from “All The Money In The World” before its run in cinemas finishes. Listen to the full conversation with Scott below.