- The Brutalist is a contender for the Oscars and other major awards
- It follows the story of a Jewish architect fleeing to America
- Its director has revealed that he used AI for a specific purpose
The editor of The Brutalist has revealed the film used artificial intelligence during one scene.
Dávid Jancsó said in an interview with 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.
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”.
What makes the use of AI in films so controversial?
AI remains a contentious subject in the entertainment world. It was one of the reasons for the Hollywood strikes in 2023, with actors and writers demanding specific regulations around the use of the technology.
Screenwriters have been worried about AI being used to generate scripts that they then polish, which could lead to a reduction in their pay and workload.
Because AI is so new, there are plenty of unknowns that are causing anxiety. Could it replace the work of humans? How much could it be capable of? Is this going to help or hinder filmmaking?
The Brutalist could still pick up lots of awards
The Brutalist picked up three Golden Globes at the beginning of the month, for Best Motion Picture -Drama, Best Actor- Drama and Best Director.
Read More: Everything we know about the Oscars 2025
As such, the film is also expected to be a frontrunner at the Oscars in March. We’ll find out later this week when the nominations are revealed.
