Brady Corbet Claims He's Broke & Fellow Oscar-Nominated Directors “Can't Pay Their Rent"

Here’s an interview that’ll surely make waves in the industry. We wonder why so many talented filmmakers end up selling out by signing on to Marvel movies — this is why.

In a conversation on Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast, Brady Corbet, who wrote and directed “The Brutalist,” is saying that despite the film’s success, which includes 10 Oscar nominations, he’s practically broke. Corbet shared that he and his life/writing partner Mona Fastvold received “zero dollars” for their last two films.

In fact, he’s so broke that he recently decided to take a job directing commercials in Portugal recently. “It’s the first time that I had made really any money in years,” Corbet said. “We had to just sort of live off of a paycheck from three years ago.” 

Corbet goes on to claim that he’s not the only “broke” Oscar-nominated director. “I’ve spoken to many filmmakers that have films that are nominated this year that can’t pay their rent,” he said. While he didn’t name any names, he tried to explain how a filmmaker could end up finding his or herself in this situation.

You’re not paid to be promoting a film, and if you look at certain films that premiered in Cannes, that was almost a year ago. Our film premiered in September so I’ve been doing this for six months and had zero income because I don’t have any time to work.

So, Corbet hasn’t made money on his 3 hour-long, critically-acclaimed film, which has so far grossed $30M worldwide, but he’s actually making money directing Portuguese commercials? This in fact is how reclusive filmmakers like Jonathan Glazer, Bennett Miller and Spike Jonze make most of their money.

I’m sure if Corbet aligned with a major studio for his next project, preferably IP content, selling his creative soul in the process, then he’d probably be making bank. That’s how Marvel snatches up all of their promising indie filmmakers.

What I don’t get is that it actually sounds like he’s totally broke. The film rights for ‘The Brutalist’ were purchased by a distributor, right? He's a profit participant — unless he has an incompetent agent representing him, or he’s a terrible manager of his own money. Regardless, his stock has considerably risen because of “The Brutalist,” and his next project, whatever it may be, will very likely result in him signing a major deal.