You remember the feeling. It was late 2017, and the movie industry was basically eating itself. Usually, when a big-budget Ridley Scott film drops a trailer, the conversation is about the cinematography or whether the lead actor is going to snag an Oscar. But with the All Money in the World trailer, things were different. It wasn’t just a marketing tool; it was a desperate, multimillion-dollar pivot.
Honestly, it’s one of the craziest stories in Hollywood history.
The film tells the true story of the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. The core of the drama is the refusal of his grandfather, J. Paul Getty—at the time the richest man in the history of the world—to pay a single cent of the $17 million ransom. It's a dark, gritty look at how extreme wealth can absolutely rot a person's soul. But the real-life drama behind the scenes almost eclipsed the movie itself.
The Trailer That Shouldn't Have Existed
If you look back at the original marketing cycle, the first All Money in the World trailer featured Kevin Spacey. He was buried under pounds of prosthetic makeup to play the elder Getty. Then, the news broke. Serious allegations against Spacey surfaced, and suddenly, Sony Pictures had a massive problem on their hands. The movie was finished. It was set to premiere at the AFI Fest in weeks.
Most studios would have pushed the release date. They would have buried the film for a year and hoped everyone forgot. Not Ridley Scott.
The director decided to erase Spacey from the movie entirely. He hired Christopher Plummer, gathered the original cast including Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, and reshot 22 scenes in just nine days. This led to the creation of the second All Money in the World trailer, which is the one most people remember today. It was a race against time that seemed impossible.
The logistical nightmare was staggering. You’ve got to coordinate international locations, get the crew back together, and somehow make sure the lighting matches footage shot months prior. They spent roughly $10 million on those reshoots. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the entire budget of many indie darlings that win at Sundance.
What the Footage Actually Shows Us
When you watch the trailer now, you see Christopher Plummer’s Getty as this cold, towering figure of greed. He’s perfect. It’s actually hard to imagine anyone else in the role. The trailer leans heavily on the contrast between Gail Harris (Michelle Williams), a mother desperate to save her son, and Getty, a man who values his "objects" more than his own flesh and blood.
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One of the most chilling lines in the All Money in the World trailer is when a reporter asks Getty how much he’d be willing to pay for his grandson’s release. He simply says, "Nothing."
It’s a gut-punch.
The editing of the trailer is snappy. It uses the song "Time of the Season" by The Zombies, which provides this weird, psychedelic irony to the grim events unfolding. You see the Italian captors, the severed ear (a gruesome detail from the real kidnapping), and the sheer scale of the Getty estate. It sells a thriller, but it feels like a tragedy.
Real-Life Stakes and Getty’s Philosophy
To understand why the trailer works, you have to understand the real J. Paul Getty. He wasn’t just a "rich guy." He was a man who installed a payphone in his mansion so guests wouldn't use his line. He was obsessed with the idea that if he paid one penny of the ransom, his other 14 grandchildren would become targets.
He was right, in a cold, mathematical way. But he was also a monster.
The trailer captures that tension beautifully. It doesn't just show a kidnapping; it shows a clash of ideologies. On one side, you have the human element—the visceral need to protect a child. On the other, you have the cold, hard logic of capital. The trailer makes you feel the weight of that money. It feels heavy. It feels dirty.
The Technical Wizardry Behind the Scenes
People often overlook how hard it is to cut a trailer when you’re literally still filming the movie. When the second All Money in the World trailer dropped, the ink on the contracts for the reshoots was barely dry. Editor Claire Simpson had to work at a breakneck pace to integrate the new Plummer footage with the existing shots of Wahlberg and Williams.
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If you look closely at some of the wide shots in the trailer, you’ll notice they are cleverly framed. Many of the scenes where Getty is in the background or obscured were actually kept from the original shoot with Spacey, but any time you see the face, it’s Plummer.
- The reshoots took place in November.
- The movie was released in December.
- That is a 34-day turnaround from "Action!" to "In Theaters."
It’s unheard of.
The industry was watching. Everyone thought it would be a train wreck. Instead, Plummer went on to get an Oscar nomination for the role. The trailer did its job; it convinced the public that this wasn't a "scandal movie," but a legitimate piece of cinema.
Why We Are Still Talking About It
The All Money in the World trailer remains a fascinanting case study for film students and PR experts alike. It represents a moment where a studio chose to spend money to save its reputation rather than hiding. It’s also a testament to the "old school" style of filmmaking. Ridley Scott didn't use CGI to swap faces—he got back on set and did the work.
There's also the "Mandela Effect" of sorts. Some people swear they saw the Spacey version in theaters. They didn't. The trailer was swapped out so fast it was like the original never existed.
Watching it today, the trailer feels like a precursor to the themes we see in shows like Succession. It’s about the isolation of the 1%. Getty is surrounded by the most beautiful art in the world, yet he is completely alone. The trailer highlights this by showing him in vast, empty halls. He owns everything, yet he possesses nothing of actual value.
Actionable Insights for Cinephiles and Creators
If you’re looking at this from a creator's perspective or just a fan of film history, there are some pretty heavy lessons to take away from the whole saga.
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Efficiency is a Superpower Ridley Scott proved that the "waiting game" in Hollywood is often a choice. If you have a clear vision and a disciplined crew, you can accomplish in nine days what usually takes months. For creators, this is a reminder to focus on the essential beats of a story.
Marketing Must Match Reality The trailer succeeded because it didn't try to hide the darkness of the story. It leaned into the "coldness" of the Getty character. When you're marketing a project, find the one core emotion—in this case, greed—and make everything point toward it.
Context is Everything The All Money in the World trailer is inseparable from its history. When you watch it, you aren't just watching a preview; you're watching a save. Understanding the "why" behind the media you consume makes the "what" much more interesting.
To truly appreciate the craft, watch the trailer and then read the 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by John Pearson. It’s the source material for the film and provides even more insane details that the trailer only hints at—like the fact that Getty eventually negotiated the ransom down to a price that was tax-deductible.
The next time a movie faces a production crisis, look back at this trailer. It's the blueprint for how to handle a disaster with grace, speed, and a whole lot of money.
Next Steps for Further Exploration:
- Watch the Comparison: Search for side-by-side comparisons of the Spacey and Plummer versions of the trailer on YouTube to see the subtle differences in tone and performance.
- Study the Cinematography: Pay attention to Dariusz Wolski's use of desaturated colors in the trailer, which emphasizes the "cold" world of the Getty family.
- Research the Kidnapping: Read the original 1973 news reports from The New York Times or Time Magazine to see how the media covered the event in real-time versus how the film dramatizes it.