Oscar Hopefuls Face Backlash For Using AI

The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez are in the hot seat for using a Ukrainian AI speech-synthesis software called Respeecher to enhance the performances of its lead actors.

The Big Picture: AI has become a hot-button issue in Hollywood, as creatives fear job losses, copyright infringement, and the loss of human creativity are around the corner in an industry looking to cut costs wherever it can. The use of the tech in what are arguably the two award frontrunners feels, in a word, existential.

Behind the Scenes: The revelation of AI use in The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez may have changed some last-minute Oscar votes.

• According to the film’s editor, Dávid Janscó, The Brutalist used Respeecher to fine-tune Adrien Brody’s and Felicity Jones’ Hungarian speech, because it was too difficult to perfect. Janscó, who’s Hungarian, blended his voice in with the actors’ using the software.
• Emilia Pérez also used Respeecher to increase the singing range of Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the title role in the offbeat musical. The movie’s songwriter, Camille, blended her voice into Gascón’s during musical numbers.

Closing Credits: The AI use in both of these movies is tricky territory. Concerning The Brutalist, the goal was to make Brody’s and Jones’ Hungarian as authentic as possible. And in the case of Emilia Pérez, using other people’s voices to enhance an actor’s singing is nothing new — it was notably done for Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

But the use of artificial intelligence raises questions about the authenticity of a performance and how it shapes audiences’ perception of the on-screen portrayal. Authenticity becomes blurry, and it may inspire other productions (or even actors themselves) to request the use of AI to smooth out any wrinkles in performances at scale. Talk about a Pandora’s Box.