"The Brutalist" director Brady Corbet has revealed that he made "zero" financial gains from the film.
The Oscar nominee spoke candidly about his situation during an appearance on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast Monday.
"I just directed three advertisements in Portugal," he said. "It's the first time that I had made any money in years."
Corbet, who is in contention for writing, directing and Best Picture honors at the upcoming Academy Awards, explained that he and wife and co-writer "made zero dollars on the last two films that we made."
"The Brutalist," starring Adrien Brody as a Hungarian immigrant architect, has earned critical acclaim and 10 Oscar nominations, including nods for Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, and Brody. Brody has also won major awards this season, including the Golden Globe, Critics Choice Award, and BAFTA, according to People.
Surprised by Corbet's revelation, Maron clarified that the film has netted no income for the director, he responded, "Yes. Actually, zero. We had to just sort of live off of a paycheck from three years ago."
He went on to state 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 compared the promotion around releasing and campaigning for "The Brutalist" to "a six-month interrogation." Press interviews, he said, are "boundless."
"It's constant travel, and you're also working Saturdays and Sundays. I haven't had a day off since the Christmas break," he said.
The situation is not unique to Corbet.
"I've spoken to many filmmakers that have the films that are nominated this year that can't pay their rent," he added. "I mean, that's a real thing."
Corbet previously told Variety that making "The Brutalist" on a reported $10 million budget was a "Herculean effort," given the film's scale.
"I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, because it was just years and years of essentially working for free," he said.
He also told The Hollywood Reporter that it took him seven years to make the movie.
"I can barely keep my head above water financially," he said. "Most filmmakers I know in America — they live in one-bedroom apartments until they die. It's not a very lucrative medium. You work on something for years. You don't get paid much, or if you do, it's not enough money to live on for four to seven years until you're able to get your next film off the ground. It takes a lot out of you."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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