Art Director Union’s Rebuke To Scorsese On AI Highlights Divisions In Creative Industries

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentArt Director Union’s Rebuke To Scorsese On AI Highlights Divisions In Creative IndustriesByRob Salkowitz,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Rob Salkowitz is an Eisner-nominated comics journalist and author.Follow AuthorJun 10, 2026, 05:46pm EDTNEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: Martin Scorsese speaks onstage during the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up x 92NY at 92nd Street Y on January 25, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TCM)Getty Images for TCMEarlier today, the Art Director’s Guild, Local 800 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) issued a strongly-worded statement in response to legendary director Marin Scorsese over his support for AI technology in motion picture production, calling it a “betrayal of the collaborative nature of cinema.” This is the latest in an escalating war over AI that involves studios, technology companies, and the artists who make the work possible.The Guild’s response is to Scorcese’s statement to the New York Times endorsing an AI company called Black Forest Labs, where 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 audience.”One particular application of AI technology that Scorsese mentioned in the statement was around storyboarding, the process of visualizing scenes in a movie using drawings, sometimes by art directors and sometimes by directors themselves. According to the statement, Scorsese said: “For 70 years, I’ve been creating my own storyboards. 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. Now with this tool, I can share what I’m visualizing more clearly and efficiently to my creative team — the production designer, art designer and cinemat...