Controversy: ‘The Brutalist' Used A.I. on Adrien Brody

With A.I. becoming more prominent in filmmaking, I think it may be time to accept that it’s here to stay and will, to some extent, will continue to be used But how far should they go? One mention of A.I. in the film industry, and people start to shudder. Total meltdowns occur. A.I. in Hollywood represents not just the stifling of human creativity, but also the loss of many jobs.

I gave this story 24 hours to see if it would amount to anything. Since I’m now writing about it, that means the controversy hasn’t subsided. This seems to be a big deal, and if you agree with certain corners of social media, could cost “The Brutalist” some Oscars.

For those of you who haven’t heard, “The Brutalist” editor Dávid Jancsó admitted in an interview that he used generative AI, Respeecher, a vocal AI program, to presumably adjust Adrien Brody’s Hungarian in the film, as well as Midjourney to design buildings for a sequence near the end. These buildings were redrawn by an artist before being put in the film.

I have no opinion about the usage of AI for vocalization correction, but I’m sure many of our readers do. Apparently, plot twist, it turns out the exact same technology was also used on Selena Gomez’s vocals in “Emilia Perez,” and clearly, it didn’t do a good job since there’s been much criticism surrounding the noticeable lack of authenticity in Gomez’ Spanish.

How about using AI on actual imagery? Do we draw the line there? “The Brutalist” used it, and although an artist did the “redesign” afterwards, what you see in the film is based on AI art. This example is the definition of what many in the industry are worried about when it comes to AI: a lack of human hands being involved in the creative process.

Will this affect “The Brutalist” and Brody’s chances at the Oscars? Why is Jancsó coming out and saying this now? We’re reaching the most critical part of awards season, where almost every big contender is put under the microscope. Someone amusingly mentioned how Jancsó must have placed a huge bet on Timothee Chalamet to come out and say these thinhs.

With a little more than a month to go before the 97th Academy Awards, “The Brutalist” and “Brody” are the frontrunners to win their respective categories. The last thing A24 wanted was to hit a roadblock. There are many out there who see the usage of AI as a “performance-enhancing” tool, and while Brody has been earning non-stop praise for his portrayal of a Holocaust survivor and architect, some voters might not be so keen in rewarding a performance that wasn’t 100% human delivered.