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Brady Corbet, the Oscar-nominated director of The Brutalist, said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast that he made “zero dollars” directing the movie… kicking off a debate on the long, complicated way filmmakers get paid for their work.
The Big Picture: The glitz and glamour of an awards press tour makes it seem like filmmakers are not just the toast of the town but also raking in untold riches. However, as people learn about the reality behind the accolades, it could spark some change in how artists are compensated for what turns out to be a lot of free work.
Behind the Scenes: Most people think of their income by how much they’ll get paid in a year. But directors like Corbet have to consider their paydays over the course of years.
- Corbet was likely paid the contractually obligated minimum of roughly $250,000 for his directing duties on the non-union production… but Deadline says that he had to reinvest that money into the film to shoot on the wide-screen VistaVision format.
- The Brutalist was acquired by A24 at the Venice Film Festival for between $10-$15 million — Corbet most likely has a backend deal tied to the purchase and subsequent box office receipts, but there are 27 executive producers who will likely get a cut first.
- With The Brutalist being an awards-season play, Corbet also probably receives bonuses for winning awards, which is why he’s out on an aggressive, months-long press tour… but he’s not paid for any of that work (although he is provided accommodations).
End Credits: The Brutalist appears to already be profitable by at least $20 million (thanks to its modest success at the box office) and will get further in the black as it continues its run on PVOD and, eventually, streaming.
But that hasn’t stopped Corbet from needing to take on some commercial directing gigs in Portugal to pay the bills (why Portugal is anyone’s guess). Hopefully, on his next movie, Corbet will get a nice payday that ends up in his bank account instead of needing to go onscreen.
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