'The Brutalist' controversy is Hollywood's AI wake-up call

Speech generation is getting vital conversation started

The Brutalist, the historical drama starring Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, was racking up rave reviews—until an AI revelation changed the narrative for the film, which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards. Turns out that Respeecher, an AI speech generator, was used in a key scene. Brody’s character László Tóth reads aloud a letter in Hungarian, but elements of his voice were blended with those of native language speaker Dávid Jancsó, creating a seamless, realistic pronunciation.

There’s nothing in the film using AI that hasn’t been done before, says Jancsó. 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.

While the use of Respeecher was technically impressive, the disclosure has sparked debate about what counts as "authentic" artistry in filmmaking. Can a performance still be considered acting prefection when AI played a role in perfecting it? And what does this mean for the film’s Oscar eligibility?

Jancsó remarks on the reluctancy to talk about AI in Hollywood:

It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn’t be. We should be having a very open discussion about what tools AI can provide us with.

Here’s my grain of thought

AI’s growing presence in Hollywood is nothing new, but The Brutalist is a stark reminder of the ethical gray areas the industry must navigate. As filmmakers continue to experiment with these tools, audiences and awards bodies alike will have to grapple with what it means to honor creativity in an age of automation.