On Tuesday everyone was mad at Mark Wahlberg after USA Today reported on the basis of three sources’ accounts, that the actor had been paid $1.5 million to reshoot scenes from Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World after the director decided to replace accused child molester Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer. Aside from this being just an absurd amount of money, the outrage around the revelation was further stoked by the report that Wahlberg’s co-star, Michelle Williams, was paid less than $1,000 to reshoot scenes, and because Scott had initially said that the actors all decided to do the work for free.
Well, twist: it’s probably worse than we thought. Two sources familiar with the situation told USA Today on Thursday that Wahlberg, whose contract included co-star approval, refused to endorse Plummer replacing Spacey unless he was paid in excess of a million dollars (*cues Dr. Evil memes*).
A source told USA Today, “What [Wahlberg] said was, ‘I will not approve Christopher Plummer unless you pay me.’ And that’s how he (expletive) them.”
A different “Hollywood insider” told USA Today that Wahlberg had his lawyer write a letter to the film’s financial backers expressing that he was vetoing the recast until his demand was met. Wahlberg’s lawyer and representative have not yet responded to USA Today’s request or comment, and Wahlberg’s talent agency, William Morris Endeavor, had no comment.