Merry Christmas! The last of the holiday new releases arrives, and it is a doozy.
1. All the Money in the World (TriStar, @2,000 Theaters, 132 Minutes, Rated R for language, some violence, disturbing images and brief drug content, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 88% Fresh [34 Reviews]): You have got to love the TV ads for this film. “One of the year’s most talked about movies!” they exclaim. Yeah, but the talk isn’t about what happens on the screen.
Most of you know by now that Kevin Spacey, under a ton of makeup, was cast as J. Paul Getty in this film. Then allegations of sexual assault were lodged against him and he became too toxic to stay in the film. He was recast–after principal filming was complete and the film was about to start on the festival circuit–with Christopher Plummer taking over the role.
Director Ridley Scott was able to complete the reshoots in 9 days and the film was only pushed back 3 days from its original release date. That’s impressive.
Equally impressive is the story, inspired by true events of Getty refusing to pay the ransom for his kidnapped grandson.
Next time, it will be a new year with new releases.
