AI
TLDR: STUDIO CITY—The Art Directors Guild IATSE Local 800 criticized Martin Scorsese for promoting Black Forest Labs FLUX storyboarding AI in a Tuesday ad. The union says it sidelines storyboard artists and could worsen job displacement.
Key Takeaways:
- The Art Directors Guild IATSE Local 800 negotiates for storyboard and concept artists as generative AI pressure grows in entertainment.
- Scorsese, a Black Forest Labs advisor, showcased FLUX in a video ad by generating a medieval street storyboard and praising its “cinematic intelligence.”
- The union calls the promotion a bypass of ADG artists work and a betrayal of cinema collaboration, amid falling membership from 3,492 in 2022 to 2,966 in 2025.
- Separately, the union notes 2024 study warnings from Animation Guild and Concept Art Association about generative AI threats.
Scorsese has always been a visual thinker, but the union hears a different language in the latest AI pitch. When artists are already in shrinking pipelines, “helping” can sound like replacing.
Scorsese has always been a visual thinker, but the union hears a different language in the latest AI pitch. When artists are already in shrinking pipelines, “helping” can sound like replacing.
Q&A
If Scorsese and Black Forest Labs keep using AI storyboarding, what leverage does the Art Directors Guild have to change production contracts?
The ADG can push for contract language that requires union storyboard artists to remain involved in deliverables, limiting AI tool use to previsualization support.
Why does the union focus on storyboard workflows instead of arguing over whether AI can create images?
Storyboard work directly feeds film production decisions and staffing, so displacement risk is immediate, not theoretical.
How might membership decline and training pauses affect the ADG response tone going forward?
Lower membership and paused training raise urgency, making the union more likely to use public pressure when lobbying alone may not slow AI adoption.
What precedent do labor groups point to when they oppose creative AI tools?
Past Hollywood disputes over automation and digital asset pipelines often turned on job categories, workflow control, and attribution, not on the existence of new technology.
Could this dispute reshape how directors describe “technology and storytelling” to investors and studios?
Directors may face tighter scrutiny of claims that AI upgrades creativity while jobs shift, pushing them to explain human roles more explicitly to avoid backlash.
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