David Cronenberg has spoken out about the controversy surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in the Oscar-winning film “The Brutalist.” In a recent talk with his longtime collaborator Howard Shore at the London Soundtrack Festival, Cronenberg suggested that the backlash against the film was a deliberate smear campaign by other Oscar nominees. “I must confess, there was a scandal with ‘The Brutalist,'” Cronenberg said. “There was a discussion about Adrien Brody, but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent.
I think it was a campaign against ‘The Brutalist’ by some other Oscar nominees. It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.”
Cronenberg defended the use of AI in the film, comparing it to techniques he has used in his own work. He cited an example from his 1993 film “M.
Controversy surrounding AI in filmmaking
Butterfly,” where he manipulated actor John Lone’s voice to suit different scenes. “We mess with actors’ voices all the time,” he said.
“This is just a part of moviemaking.”
The controversy surrounding “The Brutalist” began when editor Dávid Jancsó revealed that AI tools from the Ukrainian company Respeecher were used to refine certain aspects of the film, including adjusting the Hungarian language dialogue for accuracy. Director Brady Corbet emphasized that the performances of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones remained authentic, and that the AI was used only to refine certain vowels and letters in the Hungarian dialogue. “Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely their own,” Corbet said.
“They worked for months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall to perfect their accents.”
Despite the backlash, “The Brutalist” went on to win three Academy Awards, including best original score and best cinematography. Cronenberg, who has never received an Oscar nomination himself, joked about his outsider status, saying, “I’m Canadian… Oscars are an American thing.”
The controversy has sparked a wider debate about the use of AI in filmmaking, with some arguing that it is a valuable tool for enhancing performances and others expressing concerns about its potential impact on the craft of acting.
Photo by; Sam Moghadam on Unsplash
