Brady Corbet Rants About Hollywood Pay Gaps: Zero Dollars for Oscars Glory!
So here’s the tea: Brady Corbet—yes, the Oscar-nominated director of the critically acclaimed film “The Brutalist”—has been doing a hell of a lot of work for zero dollars. Yup, you read that right. This guy has been living off a paycheck from three years ago while his film has raked in a cool $30 million from a $10 million budget. During an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Brady pulled back the curtain on the wild world of film finances, lamenting how creators often see zilch from their box office hits because the money flow is rigged for everyone else involved. “You get paid back 17 times over before you make a dollar as its creator,” he explained while simultaneously making us feel like we need to go hug our wallets.
Despite his recent accolades—like winning the Best Director BAFTA and Golden Globe, along with Adrien Brody snatching a slew of Best Actor awards—Brady’s financial reality isn’t as glamorous. He’s taken on commercial projects, including some work in Portugal, just to make ends meet after long stints of filmmaking that left him with nada. Joining the ranks of other decorated filmmakers facing financial woes, it’s a stark reminder that success at awards shows doesn’t always translate into rich bank accounts.
Moreover, the toll on his personal life has been heavy. With “The Brutalist” taking seven years to produce, he admitted missing precious moments with his 10-year-old daughter. He shared that despite countless FaceTime calls, nothing beats being present. The chaotic schedule of promoting the film—think endless travel and no days off—isn’t exactly what parenting dreams are made of.
Despite the hardships, Brady is pushing through, claiming he wouldn’t change his past choices, though he seems to have a higher tolerance for nonsense back in the day. Here’s hoping the industry takes note of these stories, because unless Hollywood shifts its financial model, countless creators could find themselves in similar, lonely financial boats.
Sources: Celebrity Storm Wire and BuzzFeed, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
