Martin Scorsese gets backlash after endorsing 'creatively freeing' AI

Legendary film-maker Martin Scorsese has stepped into the fierce debate over the rise of artificial intelligence in Hollywood by endorsing an AI tool that he says has been "creatively freeing" in the pre-production process.

The Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street director has become an adviser to AI company Black Forest Labs, saying he wants to "push the bounds of creativity to create deeper and richer experiences for audiences".

The company released a video of Scorsese using AI to instantly create images for storyboards, which show how key characters, locations and scenes should look.

He's the latest big-name director to embrace AI, but was criticised by some in the industry who fear its impact on the creative process and jobs.

In a statement, the 83-year-old Oscar winner said he had always struggled to "communicate what you see in your head to your cast and crew" in storyboards.

He said: "I'm interested in the intersection of technology and storytelling, and seeing how that can push the bounds of creativity to create deeper and richer experiences for audiences.

"Remember, cinema is a young medium, only around 125 years old, so we have to be open to how it can evolve."

He pointed out that he had used 3D in 2011 film Hugo and de-ageing technology for 2019's The Irishman, and said AI could now help him to convey his ideas "more clearly and efficiently to my creative team" including a production designer, art designer and cinematographer.

"I recently tested this out on a scene and the ability to visualize and immediately share the storyboard was creatively freeing," he added.

"During the pre-production process, time costs money, and this allowed us to move faster without sacrificing quality or craft."

'Artists thrown under the bus'

But his enthusiasm was controversial among some fans and members of the film industry.

Karla Ortiz, who worked in the art department on films including Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther and Doctor Strange, wrote on X : "He throws every single storyboard artist he's ever worked with under the bus, as he demolishes their livelihoods with models that are likely trained on those storyboard artist's same works.

"To use his legacy and power for this is just so disgusting."

Animation director Samuel Deats said: "It takes literally seconds for me to storyboard a shot, there is absolutely no reason to need AI built on the stolen work of millions of artists to storyboard your vision, have some damn pride and respect your peers."

Others on social media defended Scorsese and the use of AI in film.

"Using AI is effectively just another special effect like CGI. And as shown, Scorsese is not adverse to such technological advancements," wrote one user.

"If AI can help someone like Scorsese show his cinematographer or production team what he's imagining more quickly, I don't really see the issue," said another.

"At that point, it feels less like replacing creativity and more like giving the creative process a better tool."

Scorsese is far from the first high-profile film-maker to enthuse about the potential of AI.

Darren Aronofsky's studio used AI to recreate the American Revolution in a series of short films, and Steven Soderbergh has used it to create visual scenes in a new documentary about John Lennon.

Late actor Val Kilmer has been resurrected by AI to appear in a forthcoming film, which he agreed to star in before his death in April 2025.

Steven Spielberg recently said AI could help "save us a lot of legwork" by undertaking tasks such as scouting locations, but should just be "a tool in a large tool chest" and shouldn't have the "final word on anything creative".

Guillermo Del Toro said last year that he would "rather die" than use AI.

On Tuesday, director Adam Shankman responded to claims that he used AI in his new film Stop! That! Train!, starring RuPaul.

"Every shot in 'Stop! That! Train!' was made by human hands!" Shankman wrote on Instagram. "There are a sum total of ZERO shots conceived by AI in the movie. We employed hundreds of VFX artists who all killed themselves getting this out for release and not one job was taken out of human hands."

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