“To think their professional contributions can be mimicked or outshone by generative AI, which is built on work likely stolen from them and many other artists from around the world, is a betrayal of the collaborative nature of cinema.”
That is how the Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800, ended its statement on Martin Scorsese, posted on June 9. The guild was reacting to his new role as an advisor to Black Forest Labs, the company behind the generative AI tool Flux, which he has promoted for storyboarding.
The statement opened with a line that played on the product’s name: “Mr. Scorsese, The Business is not in flux.” It accused him of turning his back on the human artists who helped create his best-known work, and said the skills of its members bring “the highest level of value to any film or television production.”
The storyboard pitch
Scorsese’s case, made in a statement and a promotional video, rests on a problem he has had for decades. “For 70 years, I’ve been creating my own storyboards,” he said. “There’s always been this problem of how do you communicate what you see in your head to your cast and crew.”
He said he recently tested the tool on a scene and found that visualizing the storyboard and sharing it at once was “creatively freeing.” Pre-production time costs money, he said, and the tool let the team move faster without losing quality. In the video he described the result as “less wear and tear on the crew.”
TheWrap reported that the guild’s argument is also about where the technology gets its material, since it relies on copyrighted work by artists like those the guild represents.
How the deal came about
According to The New York Times, Scorsese was introduced to the Germany-based company through the investment firm BroadLight Capital, co-founded by his manager, Rick Yorn. It is unclear whether he used the tool in pre-production on his next film, What Happens at Night, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence and is co-produced by Apple and Studiocanal.
Representatives for Scorsese did not immediately respond to requests for comment from TheWrap.
Sources
- Art Directors Guild Calls Martin Scorsese's AI Endorsement "A Betrayal"
- Martin Scorsese Slammed by Art Directors Guild for AI Support: 'A Betrayal of the Collaborative Nature of Cinema'
Sources
- Art Directors Guild Calls Martin Scorsese’s AI Endorsement “A …
- Martin Scorsese Slammed by Art Directors Guild for AI Support
