The Art Directors Guild has criticized Martin Scorsese for partnering with AI startup Black Forest Labs, accusing the acclaimed filmmaker of abandoning the human artists who have long helped shape his films. In a statement posted on social media Tuesday, the guild said Scorsese’s involvement with the company’s generative AI product FLUX undercuts the work of union members who traditionally help directors visualize and build cinematic worlds. The group argued that art directors, graphic artists, illustrators, production designers, scenic artists, set designers, and other Local 800 professionals are being bypassed by the promotion of AI tools that take over tasks they believe belong to human creatives.
The criticism follows Black Forest Labs’ June 2 announcement naming Scorsese as an advisor. The company said the collaboration is meant to expand creativity and create richer experiences for audiences. In a statement published on Black Forest’s website, Scorsese said cinema is still a young medium and that filmmakers must stay open to how it evolves. He pointed to earlier uses of technology in his own work, including 3D in “Hugo” and de-aging effects in “The Irishman,” and said the new tool could help him communicate his ideas more clearly and efficiently to his creative team, including production designers, art designers, and cinematographers.
The guild’s statement took direct aim at that reasoning, saying the promotion of a generative AI product effectively replaces the collaborative role of artists who have worked with directors for decades to translate vision into film. The dispute reflects growing anxiety in Hollywood over the role of artificial intelligence in filmmaking, particularly among workers in design and visual departments whose contributions are central to the look and feel of a movie.
Scorsese has not publicly responded to the guild’s criticism, and representatives for the director did not immediately comment when asked by Variety. The backlash also spread beyond the guild. On June 3, filmmaker Boots Riley criticized Scorsese on X, suggesting the partnership may have been motivated by money and dismissing the possibility that the director cares about the long-term prospects of AI. Riley said he believed Scorsese may simply expect the technology to fail eventually, making the endorsement inconsequential from his perspective.
The controversy places one of cinema’s most celebrated figures at the center of an ongoing debate over the creative and economic impact of generative AI. Supporters of the technology argue that it can speed up communication and enhance collaboration, while critics say it threatens to diminish the role of artists whose labor has historically defined film production. Scorsese’s comments about using new tools to refine his visual ideas have not eased concerns among union artists, who see the partnership as a symbolic and practical challenge to the value of human-driven film design.
