Wednesday Jun 10
ENTERTAINMENTOther

Art Directors Slam Scorsese's AI Ad

10JUN
NOT IN FLUXAI BOARDSTHE GUILD

Martin Scorsese filmed an ad for AI startup Black Forest Labs. The Art Directors Guild, the storyboard artists' union, says he is abandoning the artists who built his films. Hollywood's AI fight got personal.

The ad shows Scorsese building a medieval street storyboard with FLUX, the company's image model. He praises its 'cinematic intelligence.' He is an advisor to the company, not just a fan.

The guild's response opens with a pun: 'Mr. Scorsese, The Business is not in flux.' The joke covers real pain. Membership fell from 3,500 in 2022 to under 3,000 last year.

Actors and writers signed AI deals with the studios this year. The crafts below the line got nothing. Watch whether other unions start naming directors who endorse these tools.

full brief & sources

⚡ Why this matters

  • A-list endorsements were AI companies' best shield in Hollywood. A union just attacked one directly.
  • The Art Directors Guild represents the exact crafts FLUX automates: storyboards, concept art, set design.
  • This is the first union statement naming a legendary director rather than a studio.

🔍 What happened

  • Scorsese filmed an ad for Black Forest Labs showing FLUX generating a medieval street storyboard.
  • He serves as an advisor to the company and praised the model's 'cinematic intelligence.'
  • June 9: the Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800, published a statement condemning the ad.
  • The union said Scorsese is 'turning his back on the human artists' behind his most memorable films.
  • ADG membership fell from 3,492 in 2022 to 2,966 in 2025, per Department of Labor filings.

💬 Smart takes

  • ADG Local 800: 'Mr. Scorsese, The Business is not in flux.'
  • ADG statement: generative AI is 'built on work likely stolen from them and many other artists from around the world.'
  • Skeptic: Scorsese has drawn his own storyboards for decades - a director using a sketching tool is not the same as a studio cutting art departments.

🧭 Where this goes

  1. Likelymore guilds publicly call out individual talent who endorse AI tools.
  2. LikelyAI startups keep recruiting legendary names - the endorsement value still beats the backlash.
  3. Possiblethe ADG pushes for storyboard-AI language in its next IATSE contract round.
  4. Wild CardScorsese walks back or reframes the advisory role publicly within months.

🥄 The Spoon Take

AI companies bought legitimacy by renting legends. The unions just showed the price: your name gets attached to their members' unemployment. The actors and writers got AI deals this year - storyboard artists got nothing, and they know it.

🤔 Pushback

One union statement with a pun is not leverage - the ADG has no contract mechanism to stop a director from advising an AI company.

·Hollywood Reporter - ADG statement·ADG on X - Full statement·THR - Scorsese-BFL partnership