The Brutalist controversy explained: Did it use AI?

Ahead of Oscar season, the odds have shifted following controversy surrounding The Brutalist and its use of AI with Adrien Brody – but what’s really happened, and did the movie actually use artificial intelligence?

Of all the awards contenders this year, The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez appear to be the frontrunners in most categories. The former, a three-and-a-half-hour historical drama following the life of Holocaust survivor László Tóth, has already taken home a slate of accolades and is predicted to be a shoo-in for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

But things have suddenly taken a turn after the news broke that the new movie used AI. Since then, The Brutalist has become the subject of backlash online, with many calling for the film to be removed from awards consideration altogether.

So, what really happened?

The Brutalist used AI for 2 big things

It has been confirmed by The Brutalist’s editor Dávid Jancsó that AI was used in the film to enhance the Hungarian language performed by stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, and to create drawings and buildings seen in the Venice Biennale sequence.

In an interview with RedShark News, Jancsó revealed that the creatives had used an AI program called Respeecher, which (according to their website) uses “proprietary deep learning techniques to produce high-quality synthetic speech.”

“I am a native Hungarian speaker and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce. Even with Adrien’s Hungarian background – (Brody’s mother is a Hungarian refugee who emigrated to the U.S in 1956) – it’s not that simple,” Jancsó explained.

“It’s an extremely unique language. We coached [Brody and Felicity Jones] and they did a fabulous job but we also wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference.”

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Jancsó also explained that AI wasn’t the first choice for the filmmakers. Initially, ADR (automated dialogue replacement) was attempted. When this didn’t work, they resorted to using artificial intelligence.

“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,” Jancsó said.

“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.

“Most of their Hungarian dialogue has a part of me talking in there. We were very careful about keeping their performances. It’s mainly just replacing letters here and there. You can do this in ProTools yourself, but we had so much dialogue in Hungarian that we really needed to speed up the process otherwise we’d still be in post.”

Jancsó also confirmed the use of AI during a sequence at the Venice Biennale. The scene features drawings and buildings designed by Brody’s character, László Tóth, who is an architect.

In defense of the AI usage in The Brutalist, Jancsó thinks there should be an “open discussion” about how it can be used in filmmaking for the greater good.

“It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn’t be,” he said. “We should be having a very open discussion about what tools AI can provide us with. There’s nothing in the film using AI that hasn’t been done before. It just makes the process a lot faster.

“We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn’t have the money or the time to shoot.”

Why are people mad at The Brutalist?

Jancsó’s interview has since gone viral, with many filmgoers calling for The Brutalist to be removed from awards consideration, and have bashed the filmmakers’ decision to include AI.

The fear surrounding AI use in TV and movies isn’t anything new. In March 2024, the independent horror movie Late Night With the Devil came under similar fire after audiences discovered still images used in the movie had been created using AI.

The filmmakers later released a statement, saying, “In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film.”

Since then, audiences have become less tolerant for artificial intelligence. Mostly, this seems to boil down to artistic integrity, with some calling its use “a disgrace.”

Following the 2023 Hollywood strikes (in which writers and performers rallied against the increased use of AI), many believe its use reduces jobs and opportunities for real creators and actors.

The subject matter of The Brutalist (which Jancsó himself described as being about “a struggling artist”) also plays a large role in the conversation.

As one X user noted, “The Brutalist using generative AI is like so hilarious cause like A) It’s being touted as a miracle production on a less than 10m budget B) It’s a movie about the life sacrifice and devotion to an artform and its preservation.”

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Still, there are those who defend The Brutalist’s use of AI, and don’t believe the film or Brody should be “disqualified” from awards conversation.

“I guess this needs to be said: Yes, the use of AI in film is bad. No, Adrien Brody wasn’t essentially dubbed in The Brutalist lol,” said one comment.

“Both non-generative and generative AI is used in varying ways in a bunch of projects nowadays. Furiousa had it. Alien had it. The former was accepted and the latter wasn’t as much after we learned the specifics, which we don’t have for Brutalist,” said another.

For more, take a look at our list of the best 2025 movies coming up. You can also keep tabs on all the new movies on streaming this month, and revisit the best movies of 2024.