Brady Corbet Responds to AI Controversy Threatening ‘The Brutalist’ Awards Chances

by

In response to his editor’s disclosure that artificial intelligence was utilized in the production, director Brady Corbet has addressed concerns over how this might impact The Brutalist‘s potential awards consideration. This lengthy three-hour and 35-minute film, starring Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survived the Holocaust and migrated to the U.S., has been a strong contender since its Venice Film Festival debut in 2024. With its Golden Globe win for Best Motion Picture – Drama, The Brutalist appeared poised as an Oscar frontrunner. However, the revelation about AI usage has caused some uncertainty regarding its awards prospects.

In response to the recent uproar, director Brady Corbet clarified the use of AI in the film “The Brutalist” through a statement to Deadline. Contrary to speculation, the movie did not utilize generative AI for the ending scene depicting architectural blueprints and completed structures. Instead, Judy Becker and her team hand-drew all the buildings. To set the record straight, the blurry digital images in a memorial video background were intentionally created by the editorial team to mimic poor renderings from the 1980s. The Brutalist is a film exploring human complexity, with every element of its production stemming from human creativity, effort, and collaboration. Corbet also assured that no AI was employed to enhance the performances of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. The team is immensely proud of their work on this project.

In their own unique ways, Adrien and Felicity delivered exceptional performances. To get their accents just right, they collaborated closely with dialect coach Tanera Marshall for several months. During editing of the Hungarian dialogue, advanced Respeecher technology was employed, focusing primarily on fine-tuning specific vowels and consonants to ensure accuracy. The English language remained untouched throughout this process. This meticulous work was carried out by our dedicated sound team in conjunction with Respeecher during post-production. The goal was to maintain the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity’s performances when translated, not to distort or modify them, always keeping the integrity of their craft in mind.

The disclosure that “The Brutalist” employed AI came to light after an interview with the film’s editor, Dávid Jancsó, by RedShark News. Jancsó stated that AI was utilized to refine Brody and Jones’ Hungarian accents, making them more authentic using AI technologies from Respeecher, the same tech used to rejuvenate Mark Hamill’s voice for Luke Skywalker in “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.” Furthermore, this interview sparked the claim that the movie utilized generative AI for its climactic scene, a point of contention among filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts.

The Growing Concerns Around AI in Hollywood

Among numerous movies released in 2024, The Brutalist found itself at the center of controversy over its use of artificial intelligence (AI) during production. Late Night With the Devil faced intense criticism for incorporating AI-generated artwork for its interstitial graphics, while A24’s Civil War utilized AI in its promotional campaign to create a series of posters that garnered widespread mockery due to their inconsistency with the film’s actual content. The Brutalist‘s rival at awards, Emilia Pérez, employed AI to augment the singing voice of its lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón. Even popular fan-favorite films like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga utilized AI in its post-production process, a surprising choice given the franchise’s emphasis on practical filmmaking. Regrettably, AI has become increasingly prevalent and is likely being used more extensively than is publicly acknowledged.

Despite Corbet’s assertions challenging the belief that the film employed generative AI for its artwork, and some arguing that it was only utilized for vocal enhancement (a point still debated), the recent headlines regarding The Brutalist‘s AI usage could potentially damage its chances at the Oscars. Although nomination voting had already ended on January 17, 2025, a day before news about The Brutalist using AI broke, the controversy may persist throughout the awards season. To regain support from passionate Academy voters who may be uncomfortable with a Best Picture win for a film using questionable technology, the movie will need to address these concerns effectively.

Read More

2025-01-21 00:02