Article content continued

The release date didn’t change.

“You can’t tolerate any kind of behaviour like that,” Scott told Entertainment Weekly late last month. “We cannot let one person’s action affect the good work of all these other people. It’s that simple.”

Scott didn’t consult with Spacey about making the switch, nor did the actor reach out to the director.

“I move fast,” Scott told us down the line from Los Angeles the day after the film’s premiere earlier this week. “But I never had that feeling of having to do something right now.”

The entire reshoot took nine days, with Williams, Wahlberg and Plummer working through American Thanksgiving.

F--- me. I'm like an old rock 'n' roll band. If I knew I was going to last this long, I would have taken better care of myself. Ridley Scott reflects on being the oldest possible Best Director Oscar nominee.

“Chris has a rare charm,” Scott added. “Without question, he epitomizes what it means to be a gentleman.”

Plummer’s version of Getty will be the only one anyone ever sees. Scott, who is known for releasing Blu-ray versions of his films that come with plenty of deleted scenes, says he will never show a cut featuring Spacey’s work.

With the film already garnering kudos — it’s nominated for three Golden Globes — the British filmmaking legend rang up to talk about why he couldn’t delay the release of All the Money in the World, how Plummer’s performance differed from Spacey’s and what’s next in the Alien series.

What intrigued you about doing a film about J. Paul Getty in the first place?

I do so many kind of exotic different things ranging from monsters to drug dealers to period features, but when something comes up that rings of news or journalism my ears prick up. … John Paul Getty was unique in a way because he had this unfathomable amount of money. Today, there are thousands of guys like him, maybe millions. Back then, he was unique and famous because of the money, and when he had his grandson taken, it was like the floodlights had been put on him. And it was made worse by how he responded. It was a fascinating story.