Brady Corbet, director of the Oscar-nominated film “The Brutalist,” claims he hasn’t made any money on the project.
The Academy Award nominee made the revelation while speaking with Marc Maron on his “WTF” podcast. “I just directed three advertisements in Portugal,” Corbet said. “It’s the first time that I had made any money in years.” He went on to say that he and his wife/co-writer Mona Fastvold “made zero dollars on the last two films that we made.”
Maron expressed surprise at the statement, asking the director to confirm it was actually true. “Yes. Actually, zero,” he said of his earnings. “We had to just sort of live off of a paycheck from three years ago.”
He went on to say that filmmakers are “not paid to be promoting a film.”
“If you look at certain films that premiered in Cannes [Film Festival], that was almost a year ago … I mean, our film premiered in September. So I’ve been doing this for six months. And had zero income because I don’t have any time to go to work,” Corbet said.
He also called the film’s promotion and marketing a “six month interrogation” with “boundless” interviews.
“It’s constant travel, and you’re also working Saturdays and Sundays. I haven’t had a day off since the Christmas break,” the director added. “I’ve spoken to many filmmakers that have the films that are nominated this year that can’t pay their rent. I mean, that’s a real thing.”
“The Brutalist” is a period drama following a Hungarian immigrant (Adrien Brody) fleeing his home country following the aftermath of the Holocaust to find work as an architect in the United States. The film has been especially popular with critics, earning 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Guy Pierce), and Best Supporting Actress (Felicity Jones).
The film won Best Picture at several industry awards shows, including at the Golden Globes, while Brody took home Best Actor honors more than 20 times for the project.
Corbet has also been recognized for the achievement, most recently winning the BAFTA for Best Director after winning a Golden Globe in the same category last month. He has also been nominated for an Academy Award for “The Brutalist.”
