Ridley Scott’s latest movie “All the Money in the World” (2017) because the center of attention in Hollywood over a gender equality issue after Mark Wahlberg was paid exponentially more than his co-star Michelle Williams for reshoots.
In the film industry, gender equality is an issue that has always been prevelant. As of late, many of those issues have been brought to the forefront.
With the film already in post-production and its release a little over a month away, the cast was reassembled to do reshoots in December after actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual assault and replaced with Christopher Plummer.
While Williams was paid a per diem of $80 during 10 days of reshoots, Wahlberg was paid the per diem plus an additional $1.5 million.
Wahlberg’s big payout sparked fury within the industry as other filmmakers and activists began to voice their opinions on gender equality.
“I think its become painfully clear that we have a huge problem and that we’re going to have to face it,” said Professor Croteau, film program director. “It’s a fight that women are going to have to continue to fight probably for the rest of their careers, they need to enter into the industry with their eyes open and prepare to fight a civil battle in their professions and not compromise.”
For aspriring actresses, witnessing such large division in pay between genders can be discouraging, however, some are remaining positive about the future of the industry.
“It is intimidating but we are making big improvements to the working condition of women in the industry so it’s also an exciting time for it,” said Brittany Severi, junior theater major.
With the recent #MeToo movement, dozens of actresses have been opening up about their negative experiences in the industry, allowing them to raise awareness for their cause. This same form of activism has been used to help defend Williams.
“Hollywood is making great strides toward gender equality but aren’t anywhere near it yet,” Severi said. “It’s important that we continue on getting there, especially with women as agents and in a producing and directing capacity.”
By speaking up for themselves, women are beginning to shake up the industry.
After being met with criticism, Wahlberg came to an understanding, donating the $1.5 million he earned for reshoots to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Williams’ name.
In addition to Wahlberg’s hefty donation, his agency, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, announced they would be contributing a donation of $500,000 to Time’s Up.
Women have shown strength in solidarity as they continue to make an impact on the industry with the 2018 Oscar nominations.
This year, Rachel Morrison became the first woman nominated for cinematography for the Netflix Original “Mudbound” (2017) and Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” (2017) was nominated for best original screenplay, best picture and best director. That nomination makes Gerwig only the fifth woman in history to be nominated for the best
director award.
