Adrien Brody
#INTERVIEW: BRADY CORBET ON “THE BRUTALIST”
By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Awards Season is in full swing, and if you have been following the buzz, chances are you have been reading or hearing all about THE BRUTALIST. The Film has been on the tip of many filmgoers’ tongues since its World Premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival where its Co-Writer/Director Brady Corbet won the Silver Lion. The Film had its North American premiere at TIFF (read our Nicholas Porteous’ capsule coverage here) and is finally landing in Canadian theatres starting this week.
The Film centers on László Tóth (Oscar-winner Adrien Brody in one of his finest performances), a brilliant Hungarian-Jewish architect who has fled Europe for America following WWII. When he is tasked with building a community centre for wealthy industrialist Harrison Van Buren (the impeccable Guy Pearce), László envisions achieving the American Dream and the start of a new legacy. But as conflicts and competing egos arise, he quickly realizes there may not be any room for him or his art in his new country.
We had the incredible privilege of speaking to Corbet during a Zoom junket the day after he presented the film in 70mm at an Advance Screening at the TIFF Lightbox mid-December. Here are some of the things we learned during our candid and fascinating conversation:
What is your process or organizing principle when writing your Screenplays?
Corbet: I always start a project with themes as opposed to starting with characters. For me, each character is emblematic of an idea [or] is a mouthpiece for that idea. I think that that my wife [Co-Writer Mona Fastvold] and I write intuitively. We usually have spoken about a project for at least a year, if not two years before sitting down to execute a draft, so we know it very well. But before we put pen to paper…I’m constantly thinking about the defining events of an epoch. And all of my films are virtual histories and they’re concerned primarily with American culpability.
My first film, The Childhood of a Leader, is about how Woodrow Wilson and his team inadvertently paved the way for fascist uprising with their participation in in the Paris Peace Conference and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Of course, Vox [Lux] is a film that is about 9/11 and Columbine being the sort of jumping-off point for the new Millennium [and how] the last twenty-five years having really been defined by those two events. And then [THE BRUTALIST] is a film about the post-war generation, which is a period of time [where] Conservatives in the US really romanticize[d] this 1950s Americana, when of course, everyone was processing the events of the 1940s [which] almost everyone in the world was affected by one way or another.
I think that I struggle a lot with Biographies, and I certainly struggle with most Biopics because they often represent history as being something linear. It’s a series of dates and figures. It’s cause and effect, cause and effect. Whereas I’m more interested in a sort of ambient tyranny. You know what is in the air? What’s in the water? What’s in the atmosphere that, you know is all contributing to these defining historical events and happenings?
How challenging was it to get THE BRUTALIST into production?
Corbet: I remember when we finished the Screenplay with this line from Zsófia as an adult saying, “In fact it is the destination, not the journey;” it dawned on us back in 2017, or whenever we first started, that it would probably be a long road. It was longer than we expected mostly because of Covid and the shutdowns. We were originally meant to shoot the film in Poland and the very day that my Crew was supposed to arrive to start pre-production, Poland shut their borders. And then the tax credit for a period of time became unstable a year later because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And so, we had to pivot and shoot the Film in Hungary…Finally we arrived at the top of 2022 and shot the Film in March. Then I was in post-production for two years. Primarily, because of the length of the picture. Also, for financial reasons.
How much did THE BRUTALIST cost to produce and did the budget cause any issues during post-production?
Corbet: We were continuing to raise money throughout the entire [production] because we actually started the Film with a budget of closer to $8-million. And it really didn’t fit inside of that box. I mean, you know $10-million was really the minimum and the maximum that the market would allow it to be made for…[The budgetary restrictions] mostly just affected our quality of life while we were making the Film. I believe it would have been the same Film [even] if we had an additional one and a half or two million dollars, I really do. But we wouldn’t have had to work seven days a week. We wouldn’t have had to work twenty-hour days. I mean, there was literally one day in the mix that was like twenty-three-hours long…I wouldn’t have wanted more [money] because with more money would have come more voices. More checks, more voices, more people – you know, more cooks in the kitchen.
And for me, when I pick up a novel, I don’t want to read a book that was written by twenty-four people. I certainly don’t want to read a book that was that was written by twenty-four executives at a streamer…A singular vision or singular point of view matters, and it’s something that we should encourage and foster culturally. Audiences actually do speak up. It seems to happen a lot in the world of these superhero films, where people hear about a Director’s Cut and start beating on a drum about it. But in fact, everyone should be beating on a drum for the Director’s Cut of absolutely every film.
The Film has more sexual content than many of its contemporary American brethren. Was that always the case, and has there been any pressure to remove any of it?
Corbet: Well, the Film was finally rated R, but I think it was kind of on the bubble for an NC-17. And you know, I just think it’s preposterous. I don’t know where [this Puritanism] comes from. It’s 2024 for Christ’s sake. And I mean this is how we all got here, so I find it odd to condemn the human body. I mean, you walk around a museum, and you know everyone’s fucking in every single painting.
I think that there’s a few things that are very important for this Film in particular, which is that this Movie is about a character that is trying to reclaim his body of work and about him reclaiming his body. We understand in the first ten minutes that he’s impotent following the war, and that even when he and his wife reconnect, it takes them a long time to physically reconnect. Imagine being away from your partner for seven to ten years – of course it’s like touching a stranger! You don’t know how to interface anymore. And so, it was very important to me to portray two survivors that are trying to reclaim their bodies for themselves again. Because they’ve been used and abused for over a decade at that point in the story. So yeah, I don’t know. I just don’t have…my wife is Norwegian and my in-laws are always skinnydipping and stuff during the holidays. I just I don’t think anything of it. It didn’t even occur to me that this Film might get an NC-17. And I’m very glad that finally it didn’t, because I never would have changed anything anyway. I don’t give a fuck.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Stay tuned for our full review!
Elevation Pictures release THE BRUTALIST exclusively in Toronto on
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 and throughout Canada starting in January 2025.
#SPOTTED: BRADY CORBET IN TORONTO FOR “THE BRUTALIST”
Toronto got a very special treat this past week with an Advance Screening, with Q&A, of Oscar contender THE BRUTALIST by Actor/Writer/Director Brady Corbet (pronounced “cor-bay”) in 70mm at TIFF Lightbox. One of the few places which can support the format.
This sweeping epic of a film, despite being three-and-a-half hours plus intermission, certainly doesn’t feel its length.
Corbet, who also has starred in acclaimed films like The Clouds of Sils-Maria, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Melancholia, crafts a sublime feast for the senses, visually and sonically.
Academy Award winner Adrien Brody taps into soul of a Hungarian architect named László Tóth and the sacrifices he made rebuilding his life in America, escaping war and being separated from his wife.
The Film is an unfiltered look at the relationship between art and its consumers, and extremes of compromise in committing to one’s artistic vision.
The Film showcases a brilliant ensemble including a ferocious Guy Pearce as Tóth’s patron, Felicity Jones as Tóth‘s wife Erzsebet and Alessandro Nivola as Tóth’s cousin.
THE BRUTALIST opens in theatres Christmas Day in Toronto and everywhere January 2025.
Highlights from the night:
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Elevation Pictures)
#TIFF24: “THE BRUTALIST” REVIEW
By Nicholas Porteous
Brady Corbet’s ginormous, 215-minute period epic The Brutalist tells the story of Laszlo Toth--played Adrien Brody, who is phenomenal in the role. Toth was a legendary architect who escaped the holocaust and literally cemented his legacy with a series of glorious buildings. One might imagine the hyperextended 3.5+ hour runtime would have to begin at the very beginning–Toth in the womb or thereabouts, but Corbet opens instead with his arrival in New York. A rebirth, of sorts. Starting from zero, and building his way to greatness largely via a complicated relationship with a wealthy patron, Harry Lee Van Buren, played with great vigour by Guy Pearce.
The Brutalist has quite a reputation. It’s poised to win The Golden Bear in Berlin, and is already considered a strong contender for best picture at the Oscars. The word “masterpiece” has come up more than once. Let me try to temper your expectations before they get impossibly high: The Brutalist is a great movie with a stunning performance at its center, and without saying too much, a less satisfying final act. It’s constructed very much in parallel with Toth’s architectural philosophy–sturdy and bold, simple yet elegant. There are countless scenes that play out in more or less one shot that are undeniably “Best Actor” clip heroin for Brody, and I say this without a shred of irony. Corbet‘s Screenplay leans heavily on Brody’s performance to convey a world of history and pain that we never see, and Brody completely enveloped me in that history, often with his eyes alone. It’s truly stunning stuff. The arguable flaw in the design of The Brutalist is that its audience is also expected to connect the dots and make leaps into how Toth’s experiences in Europe, which–again–we never see–influenced his art. Corbet presumes a familiarity with Toth that I doubt most will bring into the movie–myself included. It’s only at the very, very end that we’re treated to some perspective on his contributions to the world, and the culmination of this sprawling story feels a bit out of nowhere–at least relative to the amount of time spent building towards it.
Overall, The Brutalist is so impressive it barely feels its extreme length (thanks partly to a built-in intermission. YES. BRING THEM BACK!) It is very much worth a big chunk of your day, and will probably be nominated at the very least for some key awards. Just don’t expect a full-on religious awakening.
The Brutalist screens at TIFF ’24:
Tuesday, September 10th at 8:00 PM at TIFF Lightbox
Thursday, September 12th at 8:00 PM at TIFF Lightbox
#CANNES: “ASTEROID CITY” REVIEW
By Amanda Gilmore
Visionary Director Wes Anderson delivers a witty Sci-Fi about loneliness.
Asteroid City is about a TV show broadcast about a play that’s about people visiting a place called Asteroid City. Yes, you read the correctly. In typical quirky Anderson fashion, he brings us into this story through a character telling a story. In so doing, he delivers layers of themes that merge into one universal look at humanity.
Anderson first introduces us to a black-and-white TV Show with a story being told by a Broadcast Host played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston. He tells us about a playwright (Edward Norton) who was in search of a cast to perform in his new play that had yet to have a name — ahem…it becomes titled Asteroid City. Anderson then pulls back the curtain and brings us into the play, broken down with title card Acts and Scenes, and the familiar world of vibrant colour we’ve come to expect from the visionary arrives.
The play is about Augie (a fantastic Jason Schwartzman) who’s driving to Asteroid City with his son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and three daughters. Woodrow is going to be awarded a medal at the Junior Stargazer convention in the town. When they arrive, Augie informs his children that their mother passed away three-weeks prior. This is the first indication of a slightly darker tone for Anderson even while being in this enchanting colourful world. He examines themes such as grief, loneliness and slight apathy.
While in a diner in-town, Augie and Woodrow meet actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) and her daughter (Grace Edwards). Johansson excels in this quirky role that we rarely get to see her play. Her character is quite meta as she’s an actress who’s playing an actress in the play Asteroid City.
Augie and Midge slowly build a kinship as they often meet in the windows of their adjoining rentals. Angie runs lines with Midge as she rehearses for her next big role. Frustrated that he isn’t giving much emotion, Augie finally confesses. He hasn’t been feeling much of anything since his wife’s death. This leads Midge to tell him to use that grief and put it into the character.
For all of the spectacular visuals in Asteroid City, this is the most beautiful thing Anderson has delivered. This is a small but powerful message of how art can help channel emotional pain. He cements this theme when we return to black and white. As the actor playing Augie steps backstage and out on a balcony. He runs into the actress (Margot Robbie) who was going to play his wife before they decided to kill off her character. With only this scene, Robbie captivates as she delivers a monologue about the grief of losing the role but the fact that she’s now at a different production just next door. Things end but you need to feel and work through the emotions to move forward.
Anderson’s packed in quite an Ensemble that whom knock it out of the park. He also delivers on the Sci-Fi front. With a few scenes that are such fun that you’ll be craving more.
Asteroid City screens at Cannes ’23:
Tue May 23 at 7PM at GRAND THÉÂTRE LUMIÈRE
Wed May 24 at 8:30AM at GRAND THÉÂTRE LUMIÈRE
Wed May 24 at 8:30AM at AGNÈS VARDA THEATRE
Wed May 24 at 2:30PM at GRAND THÉÂTRE LUMIÈRE
Wed May 24 at 4PM at CINEUM IMAX
Thu May 25 at 2PM at CINEUM AURORE
Sat May 27 at 3:15PM at AGNÈS VARDA THEATRE
#FIRSTOOK: NEW TRAILER FROM “SEE HOW THEY RUN”
Tom George directs SEE HOW THEY RUN starring Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan and Adrien Brody! See some of the brand-new Trailer, in addition to some stills released recently from the Film.
Synopsis:
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
Searchlight Pictures release SEE HOW THEY RUN in theatres September 30, 2022.
(Photo/video credit: Searchlight Pictures)
#FIRSTLOOK: H&M 2016 CHRISTMAS COLLECTION AND “COMING TOGETHER” DIRECTED BY WES ANDERSON
Right in time for the Holidays, comes this Wes Anderson-directed short film titled COME TOGETHER for H&M. We didn’t realize how much we needed this!
Starring in this 4-minute clip is Anderson muse Adrien Brody.
See the Short Film:
Discover the H&M Christmas Collection here, including decorations too!
(Photo/video credit: H&M)
#GIVEAWAY: ENTER TO WIN ADVANCE SCREENING PASSES IN TORONTO, CALGARY AND VANCOUVER TO SEE WES ANDERSON’S “THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL”
Mr. Will Wong and Fox Searchlight (Canada) want to give Readers in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary a chance to see Wes Anderson’s latest Masterpiece THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL before everybody else! We’ve seen it and absolutely we were enchanted! Check back soon for our glowing Review.
Screenings take place tentatively:
Toronto: Week of March 10
Vancouver: Week of March 10
Calgary: Week of March 17
Official Synopsis:
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary Concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the Lobby Boy who becomes his most trusted Friend. The Story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous Family Fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.
Star-studded THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL stars: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson and Owen Wilson.
See the Trailer below:
To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will Wong on Facebook and state your City. You are encouraged to share via Social Media and you can increase your chances by Re-Tweeting the below:
http://www.mrwillwong.com/thegrandbudapesthotel @MRWILLW wants us to enter to #win Advance Passes to see #THEGRANDBUDAPESTHOTEL in #Calgary #Toronto and #Vancouver!
Fox Searchlight (Canada) release THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL on Friday, March 14, 2014 in Toronto, Friday, March 21, 2014 in Edmonton, Montréal, Québec and Friday, March 28, 2014 in- Calgary, Halifax, Ottawa, Victoria, Kitchener. Mark your calendars!
Mr. Will & The Cast of The Grand Budapest Hotel:
(Photo/video credit: Fox Searchlight/Mr. Will Wong)
For advertising opportunites please contact mrwill@mrwillwong.com