scorsese's manager's fund invested in the ai company. scorsese became the ad.

The Art Directors Guild addressed their statement “Mr. Scorsese, The Business is not in flux” to the wrong man.

Scorsese, 83, became a paid advisor to Black Forest Labs in June — the German startup behind the FLUX image generator — and appeared in an ad saying the tool helps him “communicate what’s in his head.” The ADG, nearly 3,000 members strong, called it a betrayal. They also note he may have already used AI storyboards on What Happens at Night, his next film with DiCaprio and Lawrence. A private call with ADG president Dina Lipton went badly. Follow-up talks have stalled.

Rick Yorn, Scorsese’s talent manager, co-founded BroadLight Capital, which invested in Black Forest Labs. The man managing Scorsese’s career holds a financial stake in the company his client just became the face of.

That’s not an artistic endorsement. That’s a portfolio company booking a marquee client.

Boots Riley, on X, described what it cost: “they gave his family a gang of money (they throw tens of millions left & right).” That money bought a legitimacy loan from one of cinema’s most unimpeachable names. BroadLight’s position in Black Forest Labs gets more valuable every time the ad runs.

The ADG’s anger landed on Scorsese. The letter belongs one phone call up the chain.