'The Brutalist' director reveals Oscar-nominated film earned him 'zero' income
What's the story
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Brady Corbet (The Brutalist) has revealed that he hasn't made a single penny from his last two films. Speaking openly to Marc Maron on his podcast WTF, Corbet stated that the amount of money The Brutalist has earned him is "zero." He further revealed that it was by directing three advertisements in Portugal that he earned his first income in years.
Financial woes
Corbet's financial struggles despite 'The Brutalist's success
Despite its critical acclaim and 10 Oscar nominations, The Brutalist hasn't been financially rewarding for Corbet. The film stars Adrien Brody in the role of a Hungarian immigrant architect in the US post-Holocaust. When Maron was surprised that Corbet didn't earn from the film, the director confirmed, "Yes. Actually, zero." "We had to just sort of live off of a paycheck from three years ago," he added.
Unpaid promotions
Corbet highlighted unpaid promotional work and financial struggles
Corbet stressed that filmmakers aren't paid to promote a film. He has been promoting The Brutalist since its September premiere, saying, "So I've been doing this for six months. And had zero income because I don't have any time to go to work." He called the promotion process "a six-month interrogation" with constant travel and working even on weekends.
Industry struggles
Corbet revealed other filmmakers are also struggling financially
Corbet also revealed that many other filmmakers with Oscar-nominated films this year are struggling to pay their rent. "I've spoken to many filmmakers that have the films that are nominated this year that can't pay their rent. I mean, that's a real thing," he said. Notably, a big reason behind the writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood was the disparity of payment in the film business, where producers and stars took the lion share.
Controversy
'The Brutalist' faced criticism over AI technology use
Apart from financial woes, Corbet's film The Brutalist has also received backlash for utilizing AI technology to modify the actors' accents. Fellow BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Edward Berger addressed this controversy and defended the use of advanced technology in films. He said it makes them better and is part of the industry's evolution. The Brutalist is Corbet's third feature and full-length project after The Childhood of a Leader (2015) and Vox Lux (2018).