Did László Tóth ever build that bowling alley?

Los Angeles Times

07-02-2025

'A good dip should whet the appetite, a great dip could be lunch and an excellent dip is really dinner.'
Wise words from Times food writer Jenn Harris as we prepare to dip into and keep on dipping through Super Bowl weekend. Dick Vermeil, who coached the Chiefs and the Eagles, says it's going to be a game for the ages. Hopefully, it'll be closer than that Super Bowl Vermeil coached in New Orleans, the one where the Raiders started the party early in the French Quarter before demolishing Vermeil's Eagles.
I'm Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope's Monday newsletter. Do you have big dip energy?
Every time Brady Corbet makes a movie, he's thinking, 'This could be the last one.' He doesn't want it to be the last one, but when you're filming, say, a 3½-hour drama about the artistic struggles of a fictional architect, you never know.
'There's a high likelihood,' Corbet says, smiling.
'The Brutalist,' nominated for 10 Oscars including best picture, directing, the original screenplay Corbet wrote with his partner, Mona Fastvold, and for actors Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, will not be Corbet's last movie. The film has become an event, a must-see for movie lovers. It's both epic and intimate, a portrait of an immigrant architect, László Tóth, that examines the relationship between patron (Pearce) and artist (Brody), and considers the purpose and lasting value of art.
Much remains unspoken in 'The Brutalist,' allowing us to use our imaginations to fill in the gaps.
'That's what makes the film so grown-up,' Jones says. 'The audience becomes active participants.'
But that doesn't mean we're not interested in exploring the movie's themes and mysteries. Corbet, Brody, Jones and Pearce, calling in from various corners of the world, were more than happy to provide some answers for an Envelope cover story that I wrote. And, yes, we talked about that scene and why all concerned thought it was necessary for the film. But also: Did László ever get around to that bowling alley he said he was building? And why don't we have a 'Brutalist' popcorn bucket yet? Brody has design ideas!
We have gone, what, three days without any new controversies surrounding best picture nominee 'Emilia Pérez' and its lead actress nominee, Karla Sofía Gascón. Netflix has scrubbed Gascón from its FYC ads in the wake of the disclosure of her history of posting racist, anti-Muslim and other insensitive opinions on social media. She will not be in Los Angeles this weekend attending the Producers Guild Awards, as had been planned. Reportedly, Netflix is no longer willing to pay for Gascón's travel expenses. She might have to buy her own plane ticket to attend the Oscars next month.
My old friend Mary McNamara wrote about Gascón in a recent column titled 'How Karla Sofía Gascón turned a historic Oscars first into a historic Oscars nightmare.'
'Liberals who celebrated her nomination and were prepared to mark her 'historic first' [as the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Oscar,] have been caught flat-footed,' Mary writes. 'There is no denying either the wide-ranging hatefulness of her prior remarks or the remarkable nature of her nomination, though the chances of it becoming a win dwindle with each passing day.'
'More important, the knee-jerk expectations around and sanctification of such firsts have been dealt a blow,' Mary continues. 'There is nothing wrong with crafting a diversity-positive awards narrative around any film or potential nominee, but whoever is doing the crafting had better make darn sure that the narrative fits the subject.'
There could be another dramatic development if 'Emilia Pérez' manages to pull off a win at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, an honor that, more often than not, predicts the eventual best picture Oscar winner. The PGA voting deadline was Jan. 30, so most members probably cast their ballots before news broke about Gascón's posts. There has been a wide gulf between the public's dismay and disinterest toward 'Emilia Pérez' and awards season voters' enthusiastic support of the film. Could that continue? At this point, nothing would shock me.