The acclaimed Brutalist-inspired filmmaker Brady Corbet revealed this week that he earned "absolutely nothing" from his Oscar-nominated movie. During an appearance on WTF With Marc Maron, Corbet shared, "I recently directed three commercials in Portugal – it's the first time in years that I've seen any financial gain."
Expanding on his financial situation, Corbet elaborated that neither he nor his wife (and creative collaborator) Mona Fastvold, "saw a dime from our last two films." Prior to The Brutalist, the duo collaborated on the 2018 film Vox Lux. The Brutalist garnered an impressive ten nominations at this year's Academy Awards, including nods for Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Supporting Actress (Felicity Jones), Best Director (Corbet), and Best Picture.
When Maron pressed Corbet to clarify his statement regarding payment, the director replied, "Yes, literally zero. We've been living on a paycheck from three years ago." He added that his financial plight is not unique, stating, "I've talked to numerous filmmakers whose films are nominated this year, and they can't even cover their rent. This is a very real struggle."
Corbet further noted that filmmakers are "not compensated for promoting their films," adding, "Some films premiered at Cannes almost a year ago, and ours premiered in September. I've been doing this for six months without any income because I don't have time to take on other work. I can't even take a writing gig right now."
Describing the extensive press tour as a "six-month grilling," Corbet mentioned that he had completed 90 interviews in just the previous week. "It's seven days a week, non-stop. It's constant traveling, and you're working every Saturday and Sunday. I haven't had a day off since Christmas, and that was only four days," he lamented.
