Washington [US], February 18: Director Brady Corbet, whose film The Brutalist has earned 10 nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture, shared that despite the critical acclaim, he has “made zero dollars” from the project.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Corbet revealed that he and his wife, Mona Fastvold, who is also his creative partner, “made zero dollars” from their last two films, including The Brutalist and their 2018 film Vox Lux. He explained, “Yes. Actually, zero. We had to just sort of live off of a paycheck from three years ago.”
Corbet also disclosed that it wasn’t until he directed three advertisements in Portugal that he earned money for the first time in years. “It’s the first time that I had made any money in years,” he said. The director went on to emphasize the financial challenges many filmmakers face, adding, “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.”
Further discussing the hardships of filmmaking, Corbet explained that directors are not paid to promote their films. “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. I had zero income because I didn’t have any time to go to work,” he said.
Despite the financial strain, The Brutalist has gained significant recognition, with Adrien Brody receiving a Best Actor nomination and Felicity Jones securing a Best Supporting Actress nod.
Corbet, who also won the Best Director Award at the 78th BAFTA and the 2025 Golden Globes, took the opportunity to advocate for more autonomy for filmmakers, particularly when it comes to having final-cut control over their projects. While accepting the Golden Globe, Corbet said, “Final-cut tiebreak goes to the director,” calling for greater creative freedom in the filmmaking process.