It had been reported back in November that Mark Wahlberg would pull in close to the $2 million for reshoots on Ridley Scott’s All The Money In The World. Much was made about the production when Scott decided to reshoot following the sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey, replacing the actor with Christopher Plummer. According to The Washington Post, most of the cast decided to join the reshoots for lower or no salary. Mark Wahlberg was the only one who negotiated on a larger sum:
As the cast was called in for the reshoots — including Michelle Williams as the kidnapped boy’s mother — the performers agreed to be paid more modestly for their work, in what the person said was a figure in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or less for Williams, Plummer and other actors. But Wahlberg insisted on and received, a much higher sum for the 10 days of shooting.
Imperative is financing the reshoots and new postproduction work, which combined with new marketing materials will cost as much as $10 million
The price tag for Wahlberg would end up at $1.5 million, while Michelle Williams would end up receiving less than 1% of her co-star’s salary thanks to an $80 per diem that ended up at $1,000 for a few extra days of work. This runs contrary to Scott’s comments to USA Today back in December:
RIDLEY SCOTT: “The whole reshoot was — in normal terms
was expensive but not as expensive as you think. Because all of them,
everyone did it for nothing.”USA TODAY: “Really?”
SCOTT: “No, I wouldn’t get paid, I refused to get paid.”
USA TODAY: “You didn’t pay the actors more to do it?”
SCOTT: “No, they all came in free. Christopher had to get paid. But Michelle, no. Me, no. I wouldn’t do that to — ”
USA TODAY: “The crew, of course, did get paid?”
SCOTT: “Of course. “
The pay discrepancy is earning some scrutiny in outlets in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the shifts that have followed the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood. While Wahlberg, Scott, and their representatives couldn’t be reached for comment, Williams had spoken to USA Today in the past about her view on the reshoots and her pay:
“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.”
The report has struck a chord with some in and around the industry, like Parks and Rec/The Good Place showrunner Michael Schur.
Williams (and others) volunteered time and gave up salary for the Spacey-eliminating reshoots because of belief in the cause. Wahlberg's people secretly negotiated him another $1.5 million. https://t.co/uPopsyYfwq
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) January 10, 2018
But it was totally worth it, because who isn't talking about how amazing Mark Wahlberg was in "All the Money in the World?!"
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) January 10, 2018
How on God's green Earth does Wahlberg not read the room, there? No way he doesn't know everyone else is doing it for free. He makes like $100m a year — how do you not tell your agent to let this one go?
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) January 10, 2018
If he isn't told to donate $1.5m to RAINN or Planned Parenthood or some other non-profit in the next 48 hours, he should fire his publicist.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) January 10, 2018
THEY'RE AT THE SAME AGENCY.
Maybe this isn't the whole story, somehow? If it is, this is criminally stupid.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) January 10, 2018
The kicker in all of this: Wahlberg and Williams are represented by the same talent agency. That said, we kinda feel sorry for whoever has to answer the phones at WME today.
https://twitter.com/mrDaveKrumholtz/status/950931112032980992
While there’s an argument to be made that you can’t fault Wahlberg and his agents for negotiating for more money, it does look exceptionally unsavory in the proximity of the rest of the cast and director foregoing salary to make the film happen. It also comes at the worst possible time for Hollywood and right after the Golden Globes that were meant to be a statement about the current trajectory of the business.
(Via USA Today / Washington Post)
