Brady Corbet directed the 10-time Oscar-nominated film “The Brutalist” — but he’s made “zero dollars” from the drama.
“I just directed three advertisements in Portugal… it’s the first time that I had made any money really in years,“ the 36-year-old filmmaker said on Monday’s episode of the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast.
Corbet, who co-wrote “The Brutalist” with his partner Mona Fastvold, explained that the pair “made zero dollars on the last two films we made.”
“Yes, actually zero,” he admitted. “So we had to just live off of a paycheck from three years ago.”
Corbet’s past directorial works include 2015’s “The Childhood of a Leader” and 2018’s “Vox Lux.”
“The Brutalist,” Corbet’s most critically acclaimed work yet, follows a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor who emigrates to the United States. It premiered in Venice in September 2024.
The film recently won four awards at the 2025 BAFTAs and three awards at the 2025 Golden Globes. Corbet took home the Best Director prizes at both ceremonies.
It’s up for 10 awards at the 2025 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for Adrien Brody, Best Supporting Actor for Guy Pearce and Best Supporting Actress for Felicity Jones.
Corbet said on the podcast he’s not the only director struggling to make ends meet.
“I’ve spoken to many filmmakers with films nominated this year who can’t pay their rent. I mean, that’s a real thing,” he shared. “You’re not paid to be promoting a film.”
“If you look at certain films that premiered in Cannes, that was almost a year ago … I mean, our film premiered in September,” he continued. “So I’ve been doing this for six months. And had zero income because I don’t have any time to go to work. I can’t even take a writing job at the moment.”
He added of the ongoing press tour for award season, “It’s seven days a week. It’s boundless. It’s constant travel, and you’re also working Saturdays and Sundays. I haven’t had a day off since the Christmas break, and that was also only four days.”
Corbet made “The Brutalist” with only a $10 million budget. The film grossed over $31 million at the worldwide box office.
In an interview with Slate in December, Corbet opened up about the toll that “The Brutalist” has taken on him.
“Making a movie is such a marathon from nose to tail. And frankly, I don’t think that I have it in me physically to go through what I went through on my last three movies again,” he said.
“I’ve been working seven days a week and through holidays for the last three years, and I’m really exhausted,” Corbet added. “On the next one, I need to be able to occasionally sleep in. I need to be able to occasionally have a weekend.”
