Adrien Brody addresses the use of AI technology in ‘The Brutalist’: “Things can get misappropriated”
The Brutalist star Adrien Brody has addressed the use of artificial intelligence during the post-production process of the movie.
Last month, the movie’s editor, Dávid Jancsó, revealed that he had used the AI software Respeecher to improve the accents of lead actors Brody and Felicity Jones. In the film, they play Jewish-Hungarian refugees who immigrate to the US following the Holocaust.
Janscó claimed, “Most of their Hungarian dialogue has a part of me talking in there” and stated he was “careful about keeping [the actors’] performances” by “mainly just replacing letters here and there.”
As a result of Janscó’s comments, director Corbet clarified the usage of AI within The Brutalist, stating Brody and Jones’ performances were “completely their own” thanks to their work with a dialect coach. However, he admitted that Respeecher “was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy.”
Now, on Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men podcast, Brody, who is nominated for an Oscar for his performance, said of the AI conversation surrounding The Brutalist: “I understand that we live in a time where even just the mention of AI is a bit triggering. We live in a time where, unfortunately, things can get misappropriated quite easily on the internet.”
Brody also stated that people need to have “more understanding of the context and facts of the circumstances.”
He also echoed previous comments made by Corbet, stating, “I’m happy that Brady managed to clarify a lot in his remarks. First of all, I’m the son of Hungarians and grew up with that language spoken in my home. I actually even integrated, within the Hungarian dialogue, curse words that weren’t in the script.”
Brody added: “Obviously, his post-production process only touched some lines spoken in Hungarian. Nothing of the dialect was altered; that’s all done through a lot of hard work with our wonderful dialect coach, Tanera Marshall. We all worked incredibly hard on it, and we all know that.”
Additionally, he described Corbet as a “very sensitive, thoughtful filmmaker”, adding, “There was no technology implemented that takes work from people. It’s quite a typical post-production process. I think we all know the truth.”
At the upcoming Academy Awards on March 2nd, The Brutalist is nominated for ten awards, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’. Furthermore, Brody, Jones and Guy Pearce are shortlisted for individual awards in their respective categories.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.