‘The Brutalist’ director Brady Corbet claims Oscar-nominated filmmakers ‘can’t pay their rent’

Brady Corbet is opening up about the grueling process of promoting a film and the financial realities many filmmakers face.

In the Feb. 17 episode of Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast, the director — a 2025 Oscar contender, nominated for The Brutalist — said he’s made “zero dollars” from his last two films.

“It’s the first time that I’ve made any money, really, in years,” Corbet said when Maron asked about three ads he recently directed. “Both my partner and I made zero dollars on the last two films that we made. Yes, actually zero.”

“So we had to, you know, just sort of like live off of a paycheck from three years ago,” he continued. “And, obviously, the timing during an awards campaign and having to travel every two or three days was less than ideal, but, you know, it sort of was an opportunity that landed in my lap, and I jumped at it.”

Corbet said his experience isn’t unique, adding that he’s “spoken to many filmmakers that have films that are nominated this year that can’t pay their rent.”

“I mean, that’s a real thing,” he continued. “I mean, you’re not paid to be promoting a film.”

The Brutalist premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2024. Corbet said he’s been in film-promoting mode ever since “and had zero income, because I don’t have any time to work — like, I can’t even take a writing job at the moment.”

Corbet said doing “everything all at once,” including worldwide press to promote the film, is “boundless,” and that he works seven days a week and hasn’t had a day off since Christmas break.

“That’s what’s so crazy about this entire process is that you look your worst and you feel your worst, and depending on the themes of your film, like, you’re usually talking about some of the, like, most complex issues of our era,” he explained. “It’s like a six-month interrogation.”