‘The Brutalist’ Editor Admits Filmmakers Used AI to Enhance Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones’ Hungarian Dialogue

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The highly anticipated movie “The Brutalist” by Brady Corbet is receiving criticism online following revelations that an AI was employed during post-production to boost the acting performances of stars Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones, as disclosed in a recent interview by the film’s editor.

During an interview with the video technology publication Red Shark News, editor Dávid Jancsó revealed that the filmmakers employed AI technologies developed by Ukrainian expert Respeecher to fine-tune the Hungarian dialogues of Brody and Jones in the movie, aiming for a more genuine sound.

Jancsó, who is a native Hungarian speaker, mentions that Hungarian is one of the challenging languages to master pronunciation. He adds that for individuals originating from the English-speaking world, some sounds might prove especially tricky to understand and produce.

The acting of both Brody and Jones in the movie has received high praise, as they portray Hungarian refugees who move to the United States following World War II. Notably, Brody’s leading role earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama, and he is currently seen as a strong contender for this year’s Oscars.

A significant portion of the movie’s dialogue is in Hungarian, and director Jancsó emphasized the need for authenticity when it came to the language. He commends Brody and Jones’ performances but notes that minor adjustments were necessary to perfectly capture certain Hungarian vocal nuances. Originally, the filmmakers attempted to re-dub these sections during post-production.

Initially, we attempted to re-record the more challenging parts using the original actors. However, when we tried to have other actors re-record those parts entirely, it didn’t pan out. Consequently, we began exploring alternative ways to improve the scene,” he explains.

Working under a tight financial limit, with the entire budget for “The Brutalist” being under $10 million, the filmmakers ingeniously utilized technology from Ukrainian AI startup Respeecher to refine the dialogue delivery. According to Jancsó, Brady and Jones recorded their own voices for this AI application, while he provided his native Hungarian speech as a reference model for the system.

According to Jancsó, a significant portion of the film’s dialogue is his voice dubbed over. They were meticulous about preserving the actors’ performances, primarily swapping certain letters. This can be done using ProTools, but with so much Hungarian dialogue, they needed to expedite the process to avoid prolonged post-production.

In the final part of the movie, Jancsó employed Generative AI technology to produce a set of architectural sketches and completed structures, which were attributed to the film’s protagonist, the imaginary architect László Tóth, and his designs by Brody’s character.

In an industry debate, Jancsó emphasizes to Red Shark that discussions about AI should not be contentious. Instead, it’s crucial for us to engage in open conversations about the resources AI can offer. He explains that there’s nothing groundbreaking in his film utilizing AI; it merely expedites the process. The AI is employed to generate intricate details that, due to budget constraints or time limitations, couldn’t have been captured through traditional shooting methods.

However, the announcement has ignited a wave of indignation on social media, as numerous individuals have criticized the incorporation of AI in the movie and proposed that such a practice could render it ineligible for award nominations.

One user on platform X expressed their perspective about the “Brutalist” AI issue as follows: “It seems dangerous to grant Adrian Brody an award when his accent was modified by AI.” In my opinion, manipulating a performance in such a way with AI should lead to disqualification from these award shows.

Another viewer mentioned they saw ‘The Brutalist’ on 35mm film and were completely surprised by its stunning beauty,” said one. “Discovering that AI was not only used to improve Adrien Drody’s accent but also to design the buildings in the movie leaves a terrible impression.

As a dedicated fan, I’ve come to appreciate that it wouldn’t be just to evaluate an actor’s performance solely based on their vowel pronunciations. There’s so much more depth and nuance in their delivery that should be considered.

One person observed on X that while his accent might have been somewhat less pronounced, it didn’t seem to be crucial in making Brody’s performance impactful. They mentioned they weren’t swayed by the accent, but rather by the way he expressed emotion.

For several years, Respeecher, a Ukrainian firm, has been leading advancements in artificial intelligence for speech. Their recent collaboration with Lucasfilm generated buzz and stirred debate due to their agreement to use the late James Earl Jones’ iconic voice for future Darth Vader roles, as he had given permission for the use of his recorded voice. Additionally, Respeecher worked alongside Lucasfilm to develop a younger version of Mark Hamill’s voice for Luke Skywalker’s cameo in the finale of The Mandalorian‘s second season.

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2025-01-20 17:55