It was recently revealed that the critically-acclaimed 2024 movieThe Brutalistused artificial intelligence to complete some aspects of the film, which is something that could impact its Oscars success. The story ofThe Brutalistfollows László Tóth, a Holocaust survivor who immigrates to America and settles in Pennsylvania. Once there, László rebuilds his career as an architect and tries to save his marriage. Thecast ofThe Brutalistincludes Adrian Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, and Emma Laird. All the actors, along with filmmaker Brady Corbet, have received immense praise for their work onThe Brutalist.
Reviews forThe Brutalisthave been outstanding, and the film currently has an impressive score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes (viaRotten Tomatoes). The film has already found success at several award ceremonies, and was seen as a frontrunner towin Best Picture at the 2025 Academy Awards. Up until it was revealed thatThe Brutalistincludes AI, it was gaining more and more steam as awards season progressed. However,the reveal that the creative team behindThe Brutalistused AI to complete the film may have a significant impact on its Academy Award chances.
What The Brutalist Used AI For
AI Was Used For Dialogue & Drawings In The Brutalist
In an interview withRedShark News,The Brutalisteditor Dávid Jancsó openly admitted that AI was used to complete two different aspects of the film. Firstly, the AI tool Reespeecher was used to make the Hungarian spoken in the movie sound as realistic as possible. Since much of the film’s dialogue is spoken in Hungarian, the creative team behind the film thought this was important. Secondly, GenAI was used to create a series of architectural drawings that can be seen at theend ofThe Brutalist. When speaking about the use of AI for the film, Jancsó stated:
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’snothing 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.
Based on this quote,it is clear that Jancsó thought it was completely justifiable to use AI to complete work onThe Brutalist. In the interview, he claims that Hungarian is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. He acknowledges that both Brody and Jones did a fantastic job learning the language, but claims that they didn’t even want native speakers to be able to spot any errors. Jancsó revealed that they tried to use ADR first to perfect the Hungarian dialogue, but admitted thatRespeecherworked so much better.
Why The Brutalist Using AI Is So Controversial
AI Remains A Sensitive Topic In Hollywood
The use of AI while working on movies is a very controversial topic in the industry, especially after the 2023 Hollywood strikes. One of the main reasons why actors and writers went on strike in 2023 was to protect their jobs from the advancement of AI. Therefore,those within the industry and even fans have been quick to criticize films that have utilized AI.An example of another 2024 movie that used AI is the horror filmLate Night With The Devil, which featured AI-generated art in the background of countless shots.
Oscars 2025: The Brutalist Is Starting To Look More Like A Best Picture Winner
The Brutalist had an excellent night at the Golden Globes, and Brady Corbet’s American epic is one step closer to becoming a Best Picture winner.
Late Night With The Devil’sutilization of AI-generated art is similar toThe Brutalist’sfilmmakers using AI to create architectural drawings and finished buildings at the end of the movie. While defenders of AI, like Jancsó, stress that it is just a tool to make certain aspects of the filmmaking process more efficient and cost-effective, many within the industry worry that artists are losing their jobs because of AI. For example,many have argued thata real-life artist could have been hired to complete drawings for the ending ofThe Brutalist, rather than having AI generate the artwork.
Will The AI Reports Hurt The Brutalist’s Oscars 2025 Chances?
The Brutalist Has Been Praised As One Of The Best Movies of 2024
Many who have praisedThe Brutalisthave noted that it is an incredible accomplishment that Corbet directed such an ambitious film on a budget of only $10 million. Leading up to the 2025 Academy Awards,The Brutalist’smeager budget has been a major talking point, and has earned it more respect within the filmmaking community. However,there is a strong chance that the reveal thatThe Brutalistused AI will hurt its Academy Award chances. This has already been a very close Oscars race, so a knock like this could set up another movie to take home the top prize.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,Green Book, andJokerare some recent examples of controversial films that were nominated for Best Picture.
It is worth mentioning that it is not uncommon for Best Picture hopefuls to garner controversy.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,Green Book, andJokerare some recent examples of controversial films that were nominated for Best Picture.Green Bookwas a movie about racism and the experiences of a Black man in 1960s America that faced controversy for mostly being told from the perspective of a White man. However,Green Bookstill managed to win Best Picture. Therefore,while it’s possible thatThe Brutalistcould still win Best Picture, AI is an extremely sensitive topic in Hollywood right now.
The Academy Likely Needs To Better Address AI Use In Movies
Should Any Movies That Use AI Be Considered At The Academy Awards?
After the reveal thatThe Brutalistutilized AI, the 2025 Oscars will make clear exactly how the Academy feels about using AI for movies. In addition to the Best Picture race, Brody was also the frontrunner towin Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Therefore, if the Academy takes a strong stance against the use of AI in movies, there’s a chance that the Best Actor Oscar could be awarded to an actor like Timothée Chalamet instead. Going forward,it would be smart for the Academy to address what AI tools, if any, are acceptable to be used for filmmaking.
93%
76%
Jon M. Chu
88%
The list of available AI tools is only going to grow in the coming years. These tools will undoubtedly make certain aspects of the filmmaking process easier, but the debate about whether these tools should be used will go on. There will likely be many future controversies because AI tools will continue to be used by some filmmakers. Therefore, to avoid repeating the controversies thatThe Brutalistis now facing, the Academy should make a clear set of rules regarding the use of AI and what will and won’t be accepted.
The Brutalist
Cast
Architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet flee Europe in 1947, seeking a fresh start in America. Their fate shifts after meeting a wealthy, enigmatic client.
