Yahoo Lifestyle Felicity Jones Talks ‘The Brutalist’ AI Controversy, Finally Finding “Distinctive” Work With Brady Corbet & Plans For Her F1 Series
Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is among the leading pack of this year’s Oscar nominees with 10 nods, including best director, screenplay, and picture, for which it is probably the current favorite. A real sign of the film’s strength, however, can be found elsewhere in the best supporting actress nomination for Felicity Jones.
There had been some grumbling that awards voters were struggling with the film’s 3-hour and 35-minute run and were missing the movie’s second act, which is also its strongest, when Erzsébet Tóth, played by Felicity Jones, is introduced. Clearly that was wrong.
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Jones’ Erzsébet is the wife of László (Adrien Brody), a famed Hungarian architect who has fled Europe for America after the Nazis cease power. Erzsébet was left behind but when she finally arrives in the U.S. her presence complicates a new relationship László has struck with a wealthy benefactor, played by Guy Pearce.
“It’s all completely unexpected,” Jones tells us of the film’s reception. “Over the last couple of years, it’s been cool to work on stories that are distinctive and feel like they are going to make a real impact. It’s quite reassuring that, in some ways, it’s all paying off.”
The film debuted in Venice where Corbet won best director. Festival acclaim successfully rolled into awards buzz, with the film landing three Golden Globes and a further nine BAFTA nominations, including another Best Supporting Actress nod for Jones.
Jones was last on the awards trail in 2015 with James Marsh’s Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything. Below, the Birmingham native speaks about how Corbet — a relatively new director — sold her on The Brutalist, this year’s tough awards season, and the pushback against Corbet’s use of AI on the film
DEADLINE: Felicity, congrats on the Oscar nom. How are you feeling about it and the film’s general reception?
FELICITY JONES: It was really only when we showed the film in Venice that we realized the reception was much greater than we expected. When you’re trying to make stories that are original, complex, and nuanced, you naturally know that it’s not going to be an easy course with the way of the world. The film doesn’t resort to any cliche or sentimentality. The opportunity to put something like this in the world is pretty rare. There’s no template, so people don’t know they want something like this. And then when it’s there, people realize how cool it is.
DEADLINE: The film does take some big swings. Why did you trust that Brady could pull it off? He’s only made two films as a director.
JONES: Firstly, it was the script. It was like reading a Russian novel. It was so intelligent. That’s what hooked me initially and then with Brady, it was seeing his previous work. I’d known him a little when we were in our 20s. He’s always worked with incredible auteurs throughout his life as an actor. Looking back, he was utilizing that as his film school. I mean, what a good idea. Why not learn from from the best? So it felt like all the ingredients were there to make something very singular, and at that time, that’s really what I was looking for. Something that was incredibly distinctive. But alongside that, so much of it is trust. You don’t really know. It’s a leap of faith, which doesn’t always pay off. In this respect, it did. But there is something about Brady. Maybe because he acted as a child you can feel his confidence. He spent many hours on sets and that does give him a real ease and imbues you with a certain confidence on set.
DEADLINE: You say you were looking for distinctive work. Do you think that has been missing from your career so far?
JONES: I think I was looking for a challenge, perhaps in a new direction, particularly with the intricacy and intimacy of the relationship between Erzsébet and László that, in some ways, was very new territory for me. I felt like I wanted to push the boundaries in some way I hadn’t before.
DEADLINE: Your performance is very physical. Your character is suffering from a physical disability. But there is also an indescribable weight to her, a sort of palpable intelligence, which is actually what makes Guy Pearce’s character feel so threatened and changes the direction of the film.
JONES: Yes, because she’d suffered from malnutrition, there’s an element of dissociation from her physical self. The trauma that she has gone through in the camps meant that to a certain extent, she’s had to disconnect from her physical self to survive. Part of that survival has been her connection with Laszlo, but it also gives her this incredible power, because there is nothing anyone can do that will surprise her. She’s been to the ends of the earth in some ways, emotionally and we would presume, physically. So when she meets Van Buren, there’s something quite intimidating about that for him.
DEADLINE: I remember hearing Christine Vachon, who is an EP on The Brutalist, speaking recently about how difficult it was to raise money for this. Did you as a performer feel how tight things were?
JONES: We were quite insulated from the pragmatic struggles of getting it made. In some ways, it’s a much harder experience when there’s no trust. When you struggle but have trust in each other like what we had with The Brutalist, then it’s quite an enjoyable experience. Anyone who turns up to do that film is there for the right reasons, so it creates a very harmonious atmosphere. Brady’s main thing was to come to set knowing what you’re doing. I’d been aboard the film for a couple of years before we shot, so I felt very emboldened when we were making it. I’d never seen such a collection of prepared actors.
DEADLINE: Brady put out a statement about why and how he used AI during the film’s post-production after some criticism. Did you know he had used AI to enhance performances? And what did you think about the wider discussion?
JONES: It’s obviously an element of post-production, and that’s very much the director’s prerogative. As an actor, you just have to do everything in your power to prepare and work tirelessly. Adrien and I both worked with a brilliant dialect coach, Tanera Marshall, and so much of the focus is finding the voice of the character. Guy [Pearce] has talked about this as well. What is the cadence? How do I make that person feel as believable as possible? That’s what’s in your control as an actor.
DEADLINE: Is AI something you’re worried about as an actor?
JONES: There are so many facets. I often use the analogy that making a film is a bit like putting a football on a pitch, and you put it into the world, and it’ll get kicked around in many different directions. To a certain extent, that’s part of the the pleasure of making something, seeing what the world makes of it and it’s fascinating when a film throws up so many different and nuanced discussions.
DEADLINE: It’s been a particularly rough year for Oscar campaigning. We’ve had the Emilia Perez revelations over the weekend. What have you thought about it all?
JONES: You know, I’ve been watching all the films coming out and it’s been an amazing year of cinema. These stories are just exquisite. I was watching Sing Sing the other night and thought it was fantastic. You want people to see these films because these are special cultural items being put into the world. That’s why people don’t mind going out and talking about theirs films because it feels like it’s something important. And it puts more bums on seats, the more you talk about it. So if I believe in what I’ve made, I’m happy to do it.
DEADLINE: You’ve got a production company, Piecrust Pictures. What are you interested in doing behind the camera?
JONES: The thing that intrigued me was being involved in the script from a much more embryonic stage and being able to influence the characters rather than coming in right at the end as an actor. That has always naturally appealed to me and has been one of the most exciting aspects of chatting directly with writers.
DEADLINE: Your company is producing a Formula One series. What’s the story behind that? Are you an F1 fan?
JONES: Well, actually, I grew up in the Midlands and my father would take us to the city center of Birmingham, and they would turn it into a Superprix. So I have these formative memories of racing. It felt like a natural project to explore. I’m also intrigued by these things that touch many people and racing, probably thanks to Drive To Survive, is really striking a chord across the world. It’s been pretty amazing getting inside the world of Formula One.
DEADLINE: What stage is that at currently? Pre-production?
JONES: Yes, we are developing the script as we speak.
DEADLINE: What have you got up next?
JONES: I have another film coming out at the end of the year called Oh. What. Fun., which is a Christmas ensemble comedy with Michelle Pfeiffer and a wonderful group of actors. We shot that last summer. It’s very different from The Brutalist, but still distinctive and hopefully original in some way.
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