Filmmakers Split on AI's Creative Future
Backrooms Director Kane Parsons Calls Generative AI Harmful While Martin Scorsese Explores Its Creative Role
Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director behind A24’s record-setting debut for Backrooms, said he wants generative AI gone from creative work, calling it creatively unrewarding and dismissing it as defeating the purpose of art. He acknowledged that AI could reduce effort on some VFX tasks, but argued that meaningful, objective discussion is difficult given what he described as already unfolding harmful consequences. Parsons also framed generative AI as more symptom than innovation, pointing to the growing presence of “AI slop” in everyday visual culture and describing it as tied to broader cultural and economic rot. Rather than using AI to make art, he said he’s interested in interrogating AI as a theme in future projects by using its iconography as subject matter. In contrast, the reporting notes that Martin Scorsese has embraced AI tools through an advisory role with Black Forest Labs, highlighting a divide in how major filmmakers view the technology’s creative role.
Key Points
Parsons told *The Australian* he “does not want to see [generative AI] take over Hollywood,” saying, “I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” in addition to his broader argument that AI is creatively unrewarding.
In a *Deadline* report, Parsons’ comments weren’t only about AI—he also described his practical VFX background: he and his VFX team used Blender, which he learned on “a fairly crummy laptop” in middle school through “YouTube tutorials,” plus “other software he obtained ‘through means that I won’t say out loud’.”
The divide highlighted with Martin Scorsese includes his direct statement on Black Forest Labs: “Cinema is a young medium, only around 125 years old, so we have to be open to how it can evolve,” and he cited prior tech use—“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…”
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