- The film’s use of AI on Adrien Brody’s accent proved controversial
- Cronenberg claims AI is used more in filmmaking than people realised
- The Brutalist still did well at the Oscars
David Cronenberg has defended The Brutalist over controversy over its use of AI.
The film director, writer and actor wondered if there was a “smear campaign” started by other Oscar nominees to damage its campaign’s chances.
He made this claim during a conversation with longtime collaborator Howard Shore at the London Soundtrack Festival.
“I must confess, there was a scandal [with] The Brutalist,” said Cronenberg [via Deadline]. “There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees. It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.”
Cronenberg pointed out that directors “mess with actors’ voices all the time,” giving the example of John Lone’s performance in his 1993 film M. Butterfly.
“When he was being this character, this singer, I raised the pitch of his voice and when he’s revealed as a man, I lowered to his natural voice,” he said. “This is just a part of moviemaking.”
Where was AI used in The Brutalist?
The film’s editor Dávid Jancsó told Red Shark News that he used the AI software Respeecher to correct a sequence involving the reading of a letter written by Adrien Brody’s character, László Tóth. It was used to make the pronunciation of Hungarian words sound more authentic.
Read more: Where was AI used in The Brutalist?
Jancsó explained: “I am a native Hungarian speaker and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce. Even with Adrien’s Hungarian background, it’s not that simple. It’s an extremely unique language.
“We coached [Brody and co-star Felicity Jones] and they did a fabulous job but we also wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference”.
Jancsó then made a case for AI being treated with less suspicion.
“It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn’t be” he said. “We should be having a very open discussion about what tools AI can provide us with. There’s nothing in the film using AI that hasn’t been done before.
“It just makes the process a lot faster. We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn’t have the money or the time to shoot.”
How did The Brutalist do at the Oscars?
The Brutalist scooped three awards at the Oscars earlier this month – Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Actor for Adrien Brody.
Read more: Oscars 2025: all the big moments
During the ceremony, Brody gave the longest ever acceptance speech. It even got to the point where the orchestra began to play him off before he had finished, so he had to tell them to stop.
Meanwhile, on the red carpet, Halle Berry recreated the infamous impromptu kiss Brody planted on her 22 years ago.
