Oscar buzz threatened by AI‑enhanced performances in 'The Brutalist'
"The Brutalist" is the leading favourite among bookmakers in the Oscar race in the most prestigious categories, including Best Actor. However, the film's editor "let slip" that AI was used to enhance Adrien Brody's Hungarian accent. This might influence the decision of the Academy members.
Last week, "The Brutalist" won three Golden Globes – for Best Film, Director (Brady Corbet), and Actor (Adrien Brody). These are considered almost certain to lead to Oscar nominations. Additionally, Golden Globe-nominated screenwriters, composers, and supporting actors, Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones, can also likely expect such recognition. The nominees for the Academy Awards will be announced on 23 January 2024.
Following its success in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's awards, "The Brutalist" is currently the biggest favourite among bookmakers for the Oscars in the most prestigious categories. In the competition for the Best Actor award, Adrien Brody was expected to compete against Timothée Chalamet ("Completely Unknown"). And he likely will, but it remains to be seen how the Academy reacts to the news about the "assistance" Brody used.
"The Brutalist" narrates the story of a Hungarian architect of Jewish origin, László Tóth (Brody), who, fleeing post-war Europe, arrives in America to rebuild his life, career, and marriage with his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones). Alone in a new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where a wealthy industrialist (Guy Pearce) recognises his immense talent for design and construction.
The film's footage was largely shot in Budapest. Therefore, the film crew included, among others, Hungarian editor David Jancso. He gave an apparently innocent interview, during which he discussed the technical details involved in making "The Brutalist". He revealed something that, according to American journalists, might harm the prospects of the two lead actors.
"I am a native Hungarian speaker and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce. They did a fabulous job but we also wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference. If you’re coming from the Anglo-Saxon world certain sounds can be particularly hard to grasp. We first tried to ADR these harder elements with the actors. Then we tried to ADR them completely with other actors but that just didn’t work. So we looked for other options of how to enhance it," the editor revealed. It remains to be seen if the use of AI will affect the evaluation of the actors' performances in "The Brutalist."
