Sony Pictures has released the first trailer, poster and photo for All the Money in the World, which could very well be one of the early Oscar candidates this year, showcasing an incredible true story. Kevin Spacey stars as billionaire oil magnate J. Paul Getty, who was once considered the richest man in the history of the world, although he would not use that wealth to free his 16-year-old grandson John Paul Getty III, when he was kidnapped in 1973. What's perhaps the most impressive part of this trailer is how quickly this movie came together in the first place.

We first reported on this project almost exactly six months ago in March, when director Ridley Scott signed on to this kidnapping drama, with production slated to begin this past May, despite no cast members being attached. While production start dates often come and go without coming to fruition, the film wrapped principal photography in mid-August, with post-production under way and Sony Pictures setting an award season friendly release date of December 8, arriving in limited release, although it isn't clear when the film will expand nationwide. As of now, Broad Green's Villa Capri is the only movie opening in wide release that weekend, with Fox Searchlight's highly-anticipated The Shape of Water, from director Guillermo del Toro, also arriving in limited release that weekend.

All the Money in the World follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Kevin Spacey) to pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son's captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son's life in the balance, Gail and Getty's advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money. The trailer debuted on the Sony Picutres YouTube channel earlier today, with the studio also releasing the first poster and photo featuring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams.

John Paul Getty III was living in Italy at the time of his June 1973 kidnapping, where his father, John Paul Getty Jr. was running the Italian division of the family's Getty oil business. The kidnappers contacted John's mother Gail, demanding a whopping $17 million for the release of her son, and after Gail asked John Paul Getty Sr. to pay the ransom, he refused, claiming it would spark copycat kidnappings of his 14 other grandchildren. In November 1973, the kidnappers sent a lock of his hair and one of John Paul Getty III's ears to a newspaper, with a new demand that a $3.2 million ransom must be paid, to avoid further mutilations. Getty Sr. was also notoriously thrifty, and he negotiated the release for $2.9 million. Getty Sr. himself only paid $2.2 million, the maximum amount that was tax-deductible, while borrowing his son the additional $700,000, which was to be paid back with interest.

John Paul Getty III was found alive at a filling station in the Italian province of Potenza on December 15, 1973, shortly after the ransom was paid. Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended by the authorities, but most of the ransom money was never recovered. John Paul Getty III got married a year, and his son Balthazar Getty was born a year after that, but, after mixing alcohol, valium and methadone, he suffered a stroke that left him a quadriplegic in 1981, which he never fully recovered from. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 54. The supporting cast for this drama includes Romain Duris and Timothy Hutton, with Ridley Scott directing from a script by David Scarpa (The Last Castle, The Day the Earth Stood Still), which landed on The Black List in 2015. Take a look at the trailer, poster and photo for All the Money in the World below.

All the Money In the World Poster
All the Money In the World Photo