David Cronenberg Addresses ‘The Brutalist’ Controversy Over Using AI to Enhance Adrien Brody’s Accent

David Cronenberg, the legendary Canadian filmmaker, has stepped into the fray over the use of AI in ‘The Brutalist.’ This awards-season contender, directed by Brady Corbet, has been turning heads with its epic storytelling and Adrien Brody’s powerful lead performance. But lately, it’s been getting attention for a different reason—some folks aren’t happy about how technology was used to tweak Brody’s Hungarian accent.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cronenberg didn’t mince words when he spoke at a recent London Soundtrack Festival event alongside his longtime collaborator, composer Howard Shore. He suggested the backlash wasn’t just about ethics or art—it might’ve been a calculated move. ‘I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees,’ he said. ‘It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.’ His take? This could’ve been a sly jab from rival camps looking to dent the film’s Oscar buzz.

‘The Brutalist’ follows László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect played by Brody, who flees to America after World War II to rebuild his life and career. The film’s a hefty one—over three hours long—and it’s been racking up praise since its debut at the Venice Film Festival, where Corbet snagged the Silver Lion. Brody’s been a standout too, already nabbing a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama and, just a few weeks ago, his second Oscar for the role.

The controversy kicked off when editor Dávid Jancsó let slip that AI tech from a Ukrainian company called Respeecher was used to polish Brody’s Hungarian dialogue. Hungarian’s a tough language to nail, and while Brody and co-star Felicity Jones worked hard with a dialect coach, the team wanted it spot-on—so precise even native speakers wouldn’t blink. They fed the actors’ voices, along with Jancsó’s own, into the software to fine-tune certain sounds. It wasn’t a full overhaul, just a tweak here and there.

Cronenberg’s not fazed by the uproar. He pointed out that messing with voices in movies isn’t new. Back in his 1993 film ‘M. Butterfly,’ he adjusted actor John Lone’s pitch to fit the character’s gender reveal. For him, it’s all part of the filmmaking toolbox—nothing to clutch pearls over. And he’s got a point. Voice tweaks have been around forever, from old-school pitch shifts to modern auto-tune tricks like Cher’s ‘Believe.’

Still, the timing of this drama’s juicy. Hollywood’s been on edge about AI since the 2023 strikes, when actors and writers fought hard to keep tech from eating their jobs. ‘The Brutalist’ using it, even lightly, rubbed some the wrong way—especially since Brody’s performance was so celebrated. I get it, though. When you hear Oscar-worthy, you want it to feel raw and human, not polished by a machine.

Brody himself has brushed off the fuss, saying his work on the role—months of dialect prep and emotional heavy lifting—stands on its own. Corbet’s backed him up too, insisting the AI was just a small assist, not a replacement. And honestly, with 10 Oscar nods and three Golden Globes already in the bag, ‘The Brutalist’ isn’t exactly hurting.

So, was this a smear job, like Cronenberg thinks? Hard to say. Awards season’s always been a bit of a shark tank—think back to Weinstein’s old-school tactics, pushing his films while quietly knocking the competition. Maybe we’re seeing a modern twist on that game. Either way, the film’s still a beast, and Brody’s win proves the Academy didn’t care much about the noise.