Martin Scorsese’s AI Endorsement Draws Sharp Rebuke from Art Directors Guild

The Art Directors Guild is pushing back hard against Martin Scorsese after the legendary filmmaker appeared in a promotional video for an AI storyboarding tool. The union, which represents the artists who design and visualize films, accused Scorsese of abandoning the very craftspeople who helped bring his most iconic movies to life.

In a video produced for Black Forest Labs, Scorsese—now an advisor to the company—used its FLUX technology to generate a storyboard of a medieval street scene. He praised the software for what he called “cinematic intelligence,” describing it as a way to solve a long-standing problem: how to show a director’s vision to the cast and crew.

But the ADG saw something else. In a statement Tuesday, the union said Scorsese was essentially telling filmmakers to replace human storyboard artists, concept designers, illustrators, and set designers with generative AI. They quoted the director’s own words about needing to “see and feel” ideas, then argued that the real solution has always been collaboration with trained professionals—not a machine.

“Mr. Scorsese’s promotion of a generative AI product circumvents the input of Art Directors Guild Local 800 artists and designers,” the union said. They called the AI a “betrayal of the collaborative nature of cinema,” noting that such tools are often built on work taken from artists without permission.

The dispute comes at a difficult time for the ADG. Membership has dropped from nearly 3,500 in 2022 to under 3,000 this year. The union paused a training program in 2024 because so many of its members were out of work. A recent industry study also found that concept and storyboard artists are among those most at risk from generative AI.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Scorsese’s representatives for comment.