'The Brutalist's' Oscar-Nominated Director, Brady Corbet, Just Revealed He's Made 'Zero Dollars' From The Film And Said Some Decorated Filmmakers Can't Even Afford Their Rent

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18-02-2025

If you have any interest at all in movies then you are probably aware of The Brutalist, Brady Corbet's 215-minute long drama that has been sweeping the awards circuit this year.
So far, Brady has won the Best Director BAFTA and Golden Globe for this movie, and Adrien Brody's leading performance has earned him a Best Actor BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice Award. The film also won the Best Motion Picture Golden Globe in the Drama genre.
The Brutalist is also nominated for 10 prestigious Academy Awards at next month's Oscars, and is expected to win at least a couple of its categories.
The film's success has also translated into box office numbers, with The Brutalist making $30 million on a $10 million budget, which is certainly something to be celebrated.
But despite all of this, Brady has revealed that he hasn't made a single dollar from his work on the movie, which he also produced, and co-wrote alongside his partner, Mona Fastvold. The esteemed actor-turned-director went on to claim that he knows multiple filmmakers who are nominated at this year's major ceremonies but are unable to pay their rent because of the financial strain that promoting a movie takes.
Speaking during an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Brady said that he had recently directed three commercials in Portugal, adding: 'It's the first time that I had made any money really in years, because both my partner and I made zero dollars on the last two films that we made.'
For reference, Brady and Mona previously worked together on the 2018 movie Vox Lux.
Reacting to Brady's comments, host Marc Maron asked for clarification that Brady literally meant zero dollars, prompting the director to confirm: 'Yes, actually zero. We had to just sort of live off a paycheck from three years ago.'
'And obviously the timing — during an awards campaign and having to travel every two to three days — is less than ideal,' he added of the commercials. 'It sort of was an opportunity that landed in my lap, and I jumped at it.'
This is when Brady revealed that he isn't the only person on the current awards circuit feeling a financial toll, sharing: 'I've spoken to many filmmakers that have films that are nominated this year that can't pay their rent. I mean, that's a real thing.'
He then noted that you're not paid to promote a film, and because the promotion takes up a lot of your time, you are also unable to work other jobs. He pointed out: 'If you look at certain films that premiered in Cannes, 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. I can't even take a writing job at the moment.'
Discussing the promotional aspect of his work more specifically, he said: 'It's seven days a week, it's boundless. It's constant travel, and you're also working Saturdays and Sundays. I haven't had a day off since the Christmas break, and that was also only four days.'
'You look your worst and you feel your worst, and you're — depending on the themes of your film — you're usually talking about the most complex issues of our era,' he added. 'It's really not ideal; it's like a six-month interrogation.'
And shedding some light on how it is even possible to make no money from a film that has been such a huge success and made a staggering profit, Brady explained that other people involved in the production and distribution of a movie get 'paid back 17 times over before you make a dollar as its creator.'
Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images for DGA
Brady also reflected on having to spend so much time away from home — namely his 10-year-old daughter — in order to make The Brutalist, which was in production for seven years. He said: 'I missed out on a lot in the last few years to make the film.'
'Fortunately, [my daughter and I] have an amazing relationship and we FaceTime constantly, even when I'm away and stuff,' he went on. 'But it's not the same. I don't know if eight years of torment is worth four months of success, it's hard. It's a very difficult thing to qualify.'
Ultimately, Brady concluded that he doesn't think he'd 'do things a different way' if he could turn back time, but did note that there are things he tolerated in the past that he'd be less open to now that he is older.