Adrien Brody and his accent in “The Brutalist” reopens in the Óscar controversy around the AI

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) To polish the Hungarian accent of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in the drama ‘The Brutalist’ has shaken the foundations of an industry that in 2023 paralyzed for more than 100 days one of the most powerful machinery in the United States to regulate its use in the cinema.

Brady Corbet’s tape competes for 10 Oscar Awards nominations, including Best movie Due to the innovative and particular setting that it presents: it cost about $ 10 million (very little budget considering the large Hollywood productions), it lasts more than three hours and was shot in the format with which it was filmed in the 1950s, date on which it is set.

Brody’s performance has been very praised by critics: His interpretation of a Jewish-Hungarian architect who emigrates to the United States after World War II in search of the American dream It places it among the favorites to win the statuette for the best male interpreter next March 2.

Will arrive at the gala after winning the Golden Globehe BAFTA or the Critics Choice Awardsamong other awards, although the last importance of Hollywood actors (SAG) union (SAG) Thimothée Chalametfor his interpretation of Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown”.

But the path of “The Brutalist” to consecrate in the Oscars has been tarnished by the statements of one of the editors of the film, Dávid jancsó, who affirmed that IA technology was used to improve the Hungarian dialogue in Brody And her cast partner, the British Felicity Jones, who is also nominated.

“I am a native Hungarian speaker and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages ​​to learn to pronounce. (…) is extremely unique. We trained Brody and Felicity Jones and did a fabulous job, but we also wanted to perfect it so that not even the natives noticed the difference ”said Jancsó in an interview with the magazine specialized in Redshark technology.

For his part, Corbet said in statements to The Hollywood Reporter that the use of AI in the film “It was used only in the edition of Dialogues in Hungarian, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters to achieve precision”.

“Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely yours”defended the director in an attempt not to subtract value from the interpretations of the actors, who worked several months with a dialect expert.

Talking about AI in the Mecca del Cine means remembering the historic strike of screenwriters, actors and film producers that in 2023 paralyzed for more than 100 days one of the industries with the greatest economic weight in the United States.

Among its multiple demands to improve sector conditionswhich caused losses of $ 6.5 billion for the Californian economy, was to limit the use of AI in the profession.

These concerns in fact jumped to the political sphere, with the governor of California, the Democrat Gavin Newsom, hardening the restrictions of this technology and setting preserves so that the great studies of Hollywood need an express consent to exploit the image of the artists.

Jancsó admitted that the use of AI is controversial among members of the sector, but considered that “it should not be.”

“We should have a very open debate about what tools the AI ​​can provide. There is nothing in the film that uses that it has not been done before ”he held in Redshark.

And, despite the fact that the historic strike achieved important advances in the sector, gaps still persist in the entertainment industry.

A study to 300 industry workers published in January last year revealed that three quarters of respondents indicated that AI contributed to eliminate, reduce or consolidate jobs in their companiesaccording to The Hollywood Reporter.

Only surpassed by the musical narco “Emilia Pérez” with 13 candidacies, “The Brutalist” competes for the best film with the musical “Wicked”, who opts for the same amount of awards, “Anora”, “A Complete Unknown”, “Conclave”, “Dune: Part Two”, the Brazilian “I’M Still Here”, “Nickel Boys” and “The Substance”.