Earlier this week, it was reported that Mark Wahlberg made $1.5 million for reshooting scenes from All The Money In The World, a sum of money vastly greater than that received his co-star Michelle Williams. It now appears that the star was able to leverage his clout to hold up production and get his big payday, thanks to a clause in his contract that gave him approval over the casting of his co-stars in the film.
Kevin Spacey originally starred in the film, but was ousted after a series of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct came to light. Director Ridley Scott replaced him with veteran actor Christopher Plummer, but needed Mark Wahlberg’s approval, which was reportedly refused until the production agreed to pay him out a massive chunk of change for the inconvenience.
USA Today spoke to a number of sources involved in the film, and one of them explained:
“What he said was, ‘I will not approve Christopher Plummer unless you pay me.’ And that’s how he (expletive) them.”
Another claimed that Wahlberg:
“… formally vetoed the Oscar winner [Plummer] in a letter to financiers until his demand for additional payment was met.”
Wahlberg and his co-star Michelle Williams are both represented by the same agency, but his hardball tactics are in contrast to her approach. Reportedly, she and her team were not made aware that he was negotiating hard for reshoot money, and she happily agreed to return for a minimal fee.
The actress told USA Today:
“I said I’d be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort.”
Neither star has commented on this latest development.
