Kevin Spacey to be erased from upcoming film
Actor facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct to be replaced by Christopher Plummer
The director and producers of the completed but unreleased Hollywood film All the Money in the World have chosen to remove Kevin Spacey from the movie, recast his role and reshoot his scenes following sexual misconduct allegations against the actor.
The extraordinary measure to erase a leading actor from a completed major studio picture and reconstruct the film without him was reported by three major Hollywood trade publications — Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood.
A source close to the distributor of the film, Sony Pictures, told Reuters the accounts were accurate.
Spacey will be replaced by veteran actor Christopher Plummer in the role of the late U.S. oil tycoon, Jean Paul Getty, in the Ridley Scott-directed drama about the 1973 kidnapping of his then teenage grandson, John Paul Getty III, the three publications reported.
Scott's publicist, Simon Halls, confirmed the switch late Wednesday.
Plummer, the 87-year-old Canadian Oscar winner, was said to be Scott's first choice for the role, but the director was reportedly pressured into casting a bigger name.
Film still set to open Dec. 22
Sony Pictures withdrew the movie from the American Film Institute's annual festival in Los Angeles on Nov. 16.
The amended film is still expected to open on Dec. 22, Variety reported.
Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams, who also star in the movie, are expected to be involved with the reshoots.
Sources told Variety that Spacey shot about two weeks' worth of footage and that there are many scenes where Getty is the only character.
The reshooting comes after actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of trying to seduce him in 1986 when Rapp was 14.
Netflix film will not be released
Spacey has said he does not remember the incident but has apologized.
According to his representatives he is seeking unspecified treatment.
Eight current and former employees of the Netflix TV show House of Cards, who were not identified, also have accused Spacey, the star of the show, of sexual misconduct, CNN has reported.
Netflix said it would not participate in any production of the show if Spacey is involved and also announced it will not release the film Gore, which Spacey produced and appears as the late U.S. writer Gore Vidal.
With files from The Associated Press