Martin Scorsese is the latest Oscar-winning director to hop on the AI wagon, joining the AI firm Black Forest Labs as an adviser in a bid to “push the bounds of creativity to create deeper and richer experiences for audiences.”
“Cinema is a young medium, only around 125 years old, so we have to be open to how it can evolve,” Scorsese said in a statement posted on Black Forest Labs’ website. “I utilized 3D with ‘Hugo’ and de-aging technology for ‘The Irishman.’ 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 cinematographer — for them to build on to enrich cinematic intelligence.”
In a video filmed at Scorsese’s New York City office that accompanied the partnership’s announcement, the “Goodfellas“ director uses the firm’s FLUX generative-AI model to help storyboard a scene. He then discusses staging the crime film’s famous Steadicam shot, which tracks mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he makes his way through the Copacabana nightclub, and notes how each “vignette” through the scene had to be intricately staged.
“If you have a tool like this, you could figure it out much much quicker and you could save production time, and also less wear and tear on the crew,” Scorsese said in the video.
Black Forest Labs CEO Robin Rombach, who co-founded the Freiburg, Germany-based firm in 2024, told the New York Times that Scorsese’s partnership represents “a great proof point that this works.” The director’s spokesperson said he was introduced to the firm through the investment firm BroadLight Capital, an investor in Black Forest Labs that was co-founded by Rick Yorn, Scorsese’s manager. CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz, who has also invested in the AI firm, also helped seal the partnership, according to the Times.
It was unclear whether Scorsese himself has invested in the firm, and Black Forest Labs did not respond to an immediate request for comment. Scorsese’s rep declined to comment.
Scorsese, one of the most accomplished directors in film history, joins a host of fellow Acadamy Award-winning colleagues in the adoption of AI — though to varying degrees.
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“Avatar” director James Cameron is on the board of directors for Stability AI, the maker of the text-to-image model Stable Diffusion and where Rombach is an alum. “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson also said at a Cannes Film Festival masterclass last month that “I don’t dislike” AI, comparing it to “a special effect.” Not all agree: “Pan’s Labyrinth” director Guillermo Del Toro last month slammed those who believe “art can be done with a fucking app” and last year the filmmaker said he would “rather die” than use generative AI in his films.
Scorsese’s endorsement of Black Forest Labs comes as Hollywood enters a new wave of AI adoption. The Tribeca Festival will host the world premiere of “Dreams of Violets,” a 75-minute fully AI-generated docudrama focused on the Iranian civilian resistance. “Rogue One” director Gareth Edwards also said at Amazon’s AI on the Lot event last week that he wants to create a hybrid generative AI film.
For his part, Scorsese said in his statement that he tested out Black Forest Labs’ tools to help storyboard a scene on an upcoming film and claimed the AI tools helped him better express the image he had in his head.
“During the pre-production process, time costs money, and this allowed us to move faster without sacrificing quality or craft,” Scorsese said.
From Variety US