Last week came a major story with the reveal that Mark Wahlberg was paid exorbitantly more than his co-star Michelle Williams for the reshoots on Ridley Scott’s All the Money In The World – him receiving a $1.5 million paycheck while Williams scored less than $1000 even as both had the same work commitments and are represented by the same agency.
WME is making a $500,000 donation as well.
USA Today broke the story then followed it up with further details. They revealed Wahlberg had casting approval in his contract and used it as leverage to effectively renegotiate his fee and hold the film hostage as he wouldn’t approve Christopher Plummer’s hire unless he got his new fee.
Williams had reshoots in her contract, but there are differing reports as to whether Wahlberg had them set in his. The reshoots themselves were also reportedly not financed by distributor Sony Pictures but rather the far smaller production company Imperative Entertainment which would feel the pinch of having to fork out extra for reshoots.
While some have tried to paint it as an example of the gender pay gap, or bad representation on Williams part, it mostly just paints a picture of Wahlberg as a cold, greed-obsessed miser worthy of J. Paul Getty whereas everyone else was a team player – especially the selfless Williams.
It has also led to re-examinations of Wahlberg’s character in various articles in recent days including allegations from his past and questions over his value as last month Forbes named him both the world’s highest paid actor and its most overpaid actor.
