Oscar Contender 'The Brutalist' Sparks Backlash Over AI Usage

"No generative AI was used in the making of this film."

If you're a movie buff who stays seated until the very last credit rolls, savoring the names of those who brought your cinematic experience to life, would seeing this statement make your ticket feel even more worthwhile? This line appeared in last year's A24 thriller, "Heretic." In contrast, another A24 film, "The Brutalist," a potential Oscar contender, has sparked a different kind of debate: the use of AI to refine Adrien Brody's Hungarian pronunciation and to generate architectural images featured in the film. Interestingly, this indie distributor, celebrated for its cult classics, faced backlash last year for using AI to create promotional images.

Sharp-eyed viewers noticed this statement in the credits of "Heretic." (Source: X)

Does AI-Enhanced Pronunciation Still Count as Acting?

"The Brutalist," directed by Brady Corbet, is a rare epic with a runtime of 215 minutes. It tells the story of a Hungarian Jewish architect, played by Adrien Brody, who survives the Holocaust and moves to America to chase his dreams.

The film has already won major accolades, including Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor at the Golden Globes. Featuring themes often recognized by the Oscars—Holocaust narratives, the American Dream, and epic storytelling—it has emerged as a frontrunner for the 2025 Best Picture Oscar.

Brody is also a strong contender for Best Actor—though the AI controversy surrounding the film has sparked significant debate.

Adrien Brody, who won an Oscar for portraying a Holocaust survivor in "The Pianist," delivers a performance in "The Brutalist" that feels strikingly reminiscent. (Source: A24)

This "AI leak" didn’t stem from a smear campaign during Oscar season; it originated from an interview with editor Dávid Jancsó on the industry news site RedShark News.

He explained that to perfect the lead actors' Hungarian pronunciation, the team used Respeecher, an AI software developed in Ukraine. The actors recorded their voices, and the AI adjusted their accents to sound authentically Hungarian. "We were very careful about keeping their performances. It's mainly just replacing letters here and there," Jancsó noted. In addition to voice work, "The Brutalist" employed generative AI to craft architectural images for the Venice Biennale scenes.

Jancsó acknowledged the controversy around AI, saying, "It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn't be. 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."

Pronunciation, however, is often considered an integral part of an actor's performance. Meryl Streep's Polish accent in "Sophie's Choice," for example, contributed to her Oscar win. Jancsó's candid remarks have sparked a debate: Does an AI-assisted accent count as acting? In Hollywood, where concerns about AI replacing human artistry run deep, such applications only intensify these fears. AI's role in the industry was even a key issue during the 2023 Hollywood actors' strike.

Coincidentally, another Oscar contender, "Emilia Pérez," which follows a drug lord's transgender journey, also faced AI-related criticism. AI was used to enhance lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón's singing voice, extending her vocal range and seamlessly blending it with a professional singer's voice to create a more convincing performance. This raises questions of fairness, particularly when compared to musicals like "Wicked," where the leads performed their vocals live. Is it fair for such "vocal performances" to compete for Oscars?

"Emilia Pérez" follows the journey of a drug lord's transition, starring a real-life transgender actor. (Source: Netflix)

Would These Films Exist Without AI?

Setting aside award competition, consider this: AI made "The Brutalist" and "Emilia Pérez" possible.

With its 215-minute runtime and $10 million budget, "The Brutalist" stands out as an ambitious project in today's commercial cinema. Despite its strong cast, the production team relied on AI to meet the unique Hungarian language demands. Meanwhile, "Emilia Pérez" highlights another application of AI: enhancing Karla Sofía Gascón's singing performance after director Jacques Audiard prioritized casting a real transgender actor. Together, these examples demonstrate how AI is becoming a powerful tool in filmmaking, broadening artistic possibilities.

Consider another perspective: Hollywood biopics often rely on special makeup to help actors embody their subjects, like Nicole Kidman's "fake nose" in "The Hours," which contributed to her Oscar win as Virginia Woolf. Could AI be similarly viewed as an assistive tool, enabling actors to tackle challenging performances? For instance, in "Alien: Romulus," AI was used to revive a deceased actor. However, since the actor couldn’t attend the Oscars, the controversy surrounding its use remained minimal.

For "The Brutalist" and "Emilia Pérez," AI appears to unlock new opportunities for independent films, especially in a market that continues to shrink. As the editor put it," We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn't have the money or the time to shoot." Yet, this advancement raises broader questions: as technology increasingly replaces traditional processes, how should we evaluate these artistic achievements? Do they represent progress or a shift away from human creativity?

Reddit is abuzz with discussions about the AI controversy in "The Brutalist," which could influence the film's Oscar prospects.

To address the controversy, the director of "The Brutalist" clarified that the performances of the two leads are "entirely their own." According to further reports by TheWrap, Respeecher was applied to approximately two minutes of "all-Hungarian" dialogue, rather than being used extensively throughout the film.

How do you view the role of AI in supporting independent filmmaking? We might also consider this: when actors face challenging language pronunciations, what is the fundamental difference between using AI for adjustments and traditional post-production dubbing? At a time when the art of cinema is seemingly in decline, perhaps we need a more nuanced discussion. As one Reddit user aptly put it:

"I really wish industries would separate the different types of 'AI' into categories so companies doing useful work don't get put on the same stake as generative 'replace all humans' AI. Machine Learning for tracking, rotoscoping and voice synthesis. Generative AI for image, text and video makers."

This distinction could help ensure that AI tools enhancing efficiency and creativity are not conflated with those perceived as a threat to human artistry.