Money changes people, but for J. Paul Getty, it wasn't just a change—it was a religion. If you've been looking to watch the all the money in the world full movie, you're likely chasing more than just a crime thriller. You're looking at one of the most chaotic productions in the history of modern cinema. Honestly, the drama behind the scenes was almost as intense as the kidnapping at the center of the plot.
Ridley Scott is a workhorse. We know this. But what he pulled off here in late 2017 was basically a miracle.
The film tells the harrowing true story of the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. At the time, his grandfather was the richest man to ever walk the earth. And yet, when the ransom note for $17 million arrived, the old man basically shrugged. He famously told the press that if he paid a penny, he’d have 14 kidnapped grandchildren. It’s a cold, calculated logic that Christopher Plummer captures with a chilling, Shakespearean ego.
The $10 Million Eraser: Replacing Kevin Spacey
You can't talk about this movie without talking about the "Spacey situation."
Originally, Kevin Spacey played the elder Getty. He spent weeks in heavy prosthetic makeup to look like an octogenarian. The movie was finished. The trailers were in theaters. Then, the allegations against Spacey broke. Most directors would have pushed the release date back a year or sent the film straight to streaming to die quietly.
Not Ridley.
He decided to erase Spacey entirely. With only weeks to go before the Christmas release, he called up Christopher Plummer, flew the crew to Europe, and reshot 22 scenes in nine days.
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It was a logistical nightmare.
Most of the cast, including Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, had to drop everything to return. The cost? A cool $10 million. But here’s the kicker: Plummer was actually better. He didn’t need the "old man" makeup because he was the right age, and he brought a humanity to Getty that made his stinginess feel even more terrifying. He eventually grabbed an Oscar nomination for a role he learned and filmed in about a week. Total legend move.
The Pay Gap Scandal
While the reshoots were a triumph of directing, they opened a massive can of worms regarding Hollywood pay.
It came out later that Mark Wahlberg negotiated a $1.5 million fee for those nine days of extra work. Michelle Williams? She was told everyone was doing it for "the good of the film" and accepted a per diem that totaled about $1,000.
That’s not a typo.
The discrepancy was so massive and so public that Wahlberg eventually donated the entire $1.5 million to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund in Williams' name. It was a turning point for how we talk about gender pay in the industry.
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What Really Happened to Paul Getty III?
Movies always tweak the truth for "pacing." In the all the money in the world full movie, the timeline feels like a ticking clock, but in reality, Paul Getty III was held in a hole in the ground for five months.
Five. Months.
The kidnappers, members of the 'Ndrangheta (the Calabrian Mafia), weren't playing around. When the family continued to stall, the criminals cut off the boy's ear and mailed it to an Italian newspaper. It took three weeks to arrive because of a postal strike. Can you imagine? Your son's ear is sitting in a warehouse somewhere because of a mail delay.
When the grandfather finally "relented," he didn't even pay the full amount out of the goodness of his heart. He paid $2.2 million—the exact amount his accountants told him was tax-deductible. He then lent the remaining money to his son (the boy's father) at 4% interest.
Basically, he turned a kidnapping into a business loan.
Life After the Ransom
The movie ends on a somewhat bittersweet but hopeful note. Real life was much darker.
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Paul Getty III never really got over those months in the mountains. He struggled with heavy addiction for years. In 1981, he suffered a massive stroke brought on by an overdose that left him quadriplegic and nearly blind for the rest of his life. He died in 2011 at just 54.
When you watch the film, keep that in mind. The "rescue" wasn't really a rescue. It was just the start of a different kind of tragedy.
Why This Movie Still Hits Different in 2026
We live in an era of "billionaire worship," but this film is a brutal deconstruction of what that much wealth does to the soul.
The all the money in the world full movie isn't just a crime flick; it’s a horror movie where the monster is a checkbook. It asks a question that feels more relevant every year: At what point does "protecting your assets" turn into losing your humanity?
If you're looking for where to watch it, the film is widely available on platforms like Max (formerly HBO Max) and for rent on Apple TV and Amazon. It holds up remarkably well. The cinematography is cold, gray, and wealthy, matching the heart of its central character.
What to Do Next
If the story of the Getty family fascinates you, don't stop at the movie.
- Read the Source: Grab Painfully Rich by John Pearson. It’s the book the movie is based on and goes much deeper into the family's bizarre dynamics.
- Watch the Rival: Check out the TV series Trust on Hulu. It covers the same kidnapping but from a much more surreal, stylized perspective.
- Visit the Getty: If you're ever in Los Angeles, go to the Getty Center or the Getty Villa. It’s wild to stand among all that priceless art knowing the human cost it took to keep the fortune that bought it.
The film is a masterclass in efficiency and a reminder that in the world of the ultra-rich, everything has a price—especially a life.