Martin Scorsese’s promotion of AI company called a ‘betrayal’ by director’s union

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, usually hailed as a master filmmaker and scholar of cinema, is facing backlash for promoting a company that offers generative AI products.

The director of classics such as “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas” spoke about embracing artificial intelligence as a movie making tool in a video posted last week by AI startup company Black Forest Labs. The video announced that Scorsese had joined the company as an advisor.

In a statement to the New York Times last week, Scorsese told the outlet that he was interested in the technology’s role in storytelling and “seeing how that can push the bounds of creativity.”

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

Representatives for Scorsese did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment. The New York Times article noted that he declined an interview, but made clear his support of AI was specific to storyboarding, the preproduction process of using illustrations to plan scenes in a movie.

“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. There are some things you have to see and feel.”

That embrace of AI was the subject of an open letter from the Art Directors Guild Local 800, an chapter of the IATSE union, published Wednesday. It directly addressed Scorsese and accused him of “turning his back” on the artists who helped him create some of his best work.

Throughout his career, Scorsese has been revered for his mastery of the cinematic art form and for his deep knowledge of film history. He’s been nominated for multiple Academy Awards for his films, including “The Irishman,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Last Temptation of Christ.” He won his first Oscar in 2007 for best director for “The Departed.”

“Mr. Scorsese’s promotion of a generative Al product circumvents the input of Art Directors Guild Local 800 art directors, graphic artists, illustrators, production designers, scenic artists, set designers, and other talented Union professionals,” the letter said.

It went on to point out that generative AI is only capable of producing the product he’s using by studying copyrighting work, likely without consent, credit or compensation to the original artist.

“To think their professional contributions can be mimicked or outshone by generative Al, 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,” the letter stated.

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