Michelle Williams slated as Natalie Portman’s replacement in Getty drama

Michelle Williams is in negotiations to replace Natalie Portman in Ridley Scott’s John Paul Getty III kidnapping drama.
Portman initially signed on to play the abducted teen’s mum, Abigail, with Jack Nicholson rumoured as the boy’s penny-pinching oil-rich grandfather, but now sources tell The Hollywood Reporter Williams, Kevin Spacey and Mark Wahlberg have joined the cast wish list for All The Money in the World.
Scott’s thriller chronicles the infamous Getty drama in the 1970s, when 16-year-old John Paul was kidnapped in Italy.
The mobsters wanted $17 million for the boy’s return and when his billionaire grandfather refused to pay up, they cut off the teenager’s ear and mailed it to his family.
J. Paul Getty began negotiations with his grandson’s kidnappers and eventually paid $2.2 million for the boy’s return.
Spacey is now the frontrunner to play the Getty family patriarch, while Walhberg is reportedly circling the role of Fletcher Chase, an ex-CIA agent dispatched to Rome to help find John Paul, who suffered a stroke and kidney failure after years of drug abuse and died in 2011, aged 54.
Production on the film is reportedly scheduled to begin in May (17) in Italy.
Recent reports suggested director Scott met with Angelina Jolie last month (Mar17) and extended an offer to her to portray Abigail, but she had to turn down the role due to scheduling issues.