Director Brady Corbet has addressed the use of AI in the making of The Brutalist, a revelation that’s hurt the film’s Oscar chances.
Just yesterday we covered a story which claimed that The Brutalist’s Oscar momentum had been somewhat clipped by the revelation that the film’s creators had used AI processes on various aspects of the production. Specifically, tweaking language performances and in the design of a building – a key narrative aspect of the story given that it’s about the artistic integrity of a Hungarian architect (played by Adrien Brody).
The film’s editor Dávid Jancsó recently talked about the production’s use of artificial intelligence processes, and according to several outlets, there’s been quite the backlash in the filmmaking community. As such, the film’s director, Brady Corbet has issued a statement via Deadline to clarify just how AI was used within the film:
‘Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely their own,” he states. “They worked for months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall to perfect their accents. Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy. No English language was changed. This was a manual process, done by our sound team and Respeecher in post-production. The aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity’s performances in another language, not to replace or alter them and done with the utmost respect for the craft.’
Whether Corbet’s explanation will appease any unhappy Academy voters remains to be seen. This could be nothing more than a flash in the pan or play a significant role in slowing the film’s awards momentum, which had otherwise been gathering pace. On one hand, given that The Brutalist is a 214 minute drama made for just $10m, it’s easy to understand why the film’s producers may have turned to AI to trim a few costs. But also, had AI not existed, what would they have done? Given up on the film, or found a different way to achieve what they wanted?
The technology remains a sensitive subject, especially in certain fields such as acting – as shown by last 2023’s strikes in which we saw the filmmaking community involved in a war of attrition with studios over the future use of AI.
As for the other reported use of the technology, it appears that generative AI was employed to design a building was meant as an ironic statement of sorts, with Corbet adding, “our editorial team created pictures intentionally designed to look like poor digital renderings circa 1980.”
Given the tough few years and shrinking film industry that forms the backdrop to this year’s awards race, however, Hollywood may not have much of a sense of humour about such things, hence Corbet’s decision to make a public statement.
The Brutalist is set for release in the UK this week.
