The Brutalist Duo’s Next Film Has ‘Zero AI’

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I’m really impressed with what Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold are doing. After the challenges they faced with their last film’s awards campaign, they’ve made a conscious decision to go completely old-school with Mona’s new movie, The Testament of Ann Lee. Brady told The Hollywood Reporter they didn’t use any AI at all – it just wasn’t needed! Mona described the whole process as incredibly hands-on and ‘analog,’ which I think is fantastic. It stars Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers, and they’ve really embraced practical effects. She even mentioned they’re using hand-painted matte paintings and glass set extensions – techniques that are rarely seen now. It’s clear she’s passionate about every detail and wants to fully immerse herself in the craft, and I admire that so much. They co-wrote it, as they did their previous film, but this time Mona’s directing, which is exciting!

The discussion around the film The Brutalist focused on director Corbet’s use of AI. He used it to refine actor Adrien Brody’s Hungarian pronunciation for his role as architect László Tóth, and to help create drawings and depictions of Tóth’s buildings. Corbet feels the media coverage of this was inaccurate, pointing out that AI is already common in film editing software. Director Fastvold clarified they never altered Brody’s English accent or performance, but used AI to ensure his Hungarian sounded authentic. Their goal was to respectfully represent Hungarian people and avoid a poor imitation of their language. Despite the controversy, Brody went on to win the Best Actor Oscar and gave a remarkably long acceptance speech.

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2025-11-24 21:55