The Oscar frontrunner, The Brutalist, uses generative artificial intelligence, which could cost it the Best Picture award.
Could artificial intelligence harm Brody's chances of winning gold?
The film "The Brutalist," which has been highlighted as a favorite for the Oscars with nine nominations for the 2025 BAFTA, may have compromised its chances of winning the top prize after its editor revealed the use of generative artificial intelligence to make the film feel more authentic. The story follows László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody, a Hungarian Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and emigrates to America in search of the American dream. Brody, who has Hungarian and Polish roots, has mentioned how the struggles of his own immigrant grandparents are reflected in the character.
Brody's performance, which has already earned him the Best Actor award at the Golden Globes, will surely be considered for an Oscar nomination. However, his portrayal and other aspects of "The Brutalist" are under detailed scrutiny.
Dávid Jancsó, the film's editor, explained that artificial intelligence was used to improve the pronunciation of Hungarian, as most of the dialogue is in that language. Jancsó, a native speaker, commented that Hungarian is a complex language to pronounce. Although Brody and Felicity Jones received training for their roles, efforts were made to perfect the pronunciations with technology.
The software Respeecher was used to adjust the actors' speech, shaping an authentic dialect. Jancsó stated, "A large part of their dialogue in Hungarian includes a piece of me speaking. We made sure their performances remained intact." However, the use of AI has sparked criticism, with some social media users accusing the film of manipulating the actors' accents, which they consider fundamental to acting.
On discussion platforms, opinions are divided. Some find the use of AI to enhance dialogue authenticity understandable, arguing that achieving accents like those of native speakers is nearly impossible. Others, however, believe that replacing human talent with algorithmic outputs crosses a red line in the art of acting.
The editor emphasized that while the use of artificial intelligence is controversial, it is not new in the film industry. It was also used to create architectural drawings and buildings in a sequence of the film, facilitating details that could not have been achieved otherwise due to time and budget constraints. Jancsó advocates for a more open and honest discussion about the tools that artificial intelligence can offer in the creative process.
As the nominations on January 23 for the Oscars approach, the influence of these debates about the use of AI could affect the perceptions and decisions of Academy voters. The repercussions of this controversy could significantly impact "The Brutalist's" chances at the 97th Academy Awards on March 3.
