Martin Scorsese Embraces Generative A.I. for Storyboarding

Artificial intelligence, long a flashpoint in Hollywood, is increasingly being adopted for specific creative uses. In recent years figures from Ben Affleck to Val Kilmer, the creators of South Park and Steven Soderbergh have signaled openness to generative A.I., and now Martin Scorsese has joined them by endorsing the technology for storyboarding.

Scorsese has signed on as a partner with Black Forest Labs, an A.I. startup founded in 2022 that specializes in image generation. He recorded a video demonstrating how he describes a medieval-looking town and an aged man driving a car, and the technology produced images close to what he had in mind to help his crew visualize the scenes.

Describing the tool as a kind of "cinematic intelligence," Scorsese suggested it could speed communication on set and expedite staging—he said it would have helped stage the individual beats of the Copacabana entrance in Goodfellas more quickly.

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