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Famed director David Cronenberg weighed in on the controversy surrounding the use of AI in the Oscar-nominated film “The Brutalist.” He made these remarks during a wide-ranging conversation with longtime collaborator and composer Howard Shore, as well as Jon Burlingame, last month at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Not only does Cronenberg think the AI “scandal” was overblown, he also speculated if it may have been part of a smear campaign intended to reduce the film’s chances at the Academy Awards. “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,” he said.
Oscar AI controversy about “The Brutalist”
At the start of awards season, “The Brutalist” was widely considered the frontrunner to win multiple Academy Awards, including best picture. But its momentum shifted after film editor Dávid Jancsó revealed the production team had used an AI model to correct the pronunciation of the film’s Hungarian dialogue, as well as generate key graphics for a pivotal closing scene.
Jancsó was widely reported saying that even though the actors received Hungarian language coaching, it remains a notoriously difficult language for non-native speakers. Initially, the team attempted to use automatic dialogue replacement (ADR) to fix the pronunciation in a critical scene but were unsuccessful. Ultimately, they turned to an AI tool called Respeacher, which allowed them to record the actors speaking in Hungarian, and then subtly adjust syllables where needed.
“This is just a part of moviemaking.”
While many online critics condemned the use of artificial intelligence in “The Brutalist,” Cronenberg said the incident was blown out of proportion, and that these kinds of changes occur all the time in film editing. He cited the example of his romantic drama film “M. Butterfly,” specifically the character Song Liling, played by John Lone.
“We mess with actors’ voices all the time. When [John Pone] was being this character, this singer, I raised the pitch of his voice and when he’s revealed as a man, I lowered to his natural voice. This is just a part of moviemaking,” Cronenberg said.
How did “The Brutalist” fare at the Oscars?
“The Brutalist” did end up taking home three Oscars: best actor for Adrien Brody, best original score, and best cinematography. However, the film was snubbed in seven other categories, including major awards such as best picture, best director, and best editing.
Read about how the Oscars have set a new AI disclosure to address generative tech being used in filmmaking.