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.
Spacey will be replaced by veteran actor Christopher Plummer in the role of the late US oil tycoon, Jean Paul Getty, in the Ridley Scott-directed drama about the 1973 kidnapping of his then teenage grandson, John Paul Getty III, three publications reported.
The 87-year-old Plummer was reportedly Scott’s first choice for the role of Getty, but the director was pressured into casting a bigger name.
Sony Pictures also withdrew the movie from the American Film Institute's (AFI) annual festival in Los Angeles on November 16th. The film is expected to open on December 22nd.
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.
Fresh allegations of sexual harassment were directed at the double Oscar-winning Spacey just hours before the recasting news was announced.
A former TV news anchor said Spacey sexually assaulted her teenage son last year at a Nantucket restaurant.
Heather Unruh said her son, who was 18 at the time, was "star struck" during a chance encounter with Spacey at the bar at Club Car Restaurant in July 2016. Unruh said Spacey bought her son "drink after drink" and then stuck his hand down the drunk teen's pants and grabbed his genitals.
Unruh said her son did not report the assault at the time because he was embarrassed and scared. But the family decided to come forward after others had gone public with allegations of sexual misconduct against Spacey and other celebrities, she said.
"To Kevin Spacey, I want to say this: Shame on you for what you did to my son," Unruh said, flanked by her daughter and lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented hundreds of clergy sexual abuse victims.
Previously actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of trying to seduce him in 1986 when Rapp was 14.
Spacey has said he does not remember the incident but has apologised. 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.
It said it would not be involved in further production of House of Cards with Spacey, who reportedly had been suspended from the political show.
Netflix has said it also will not release the film Gore, in which Spacey plays the late US writer Gore Vidal.
–Agencies