Hollywood’s AI Split: Martin Scorsese Leans In as Backrooms Creator Kane Parsons Pushes Back
Backrooms director Kane Parsons is out on generative AI, arguing it strips away the creative satisfaction of making movies — just as Martin Scorsese and other Hollywood heavyweights lean into the tech. The rift over AI on set is only getting louder.
If you pay any attention to the never-ending AI debate in film, brace yourself for another twist, because here comes Kane Parsons—he of Backrooms and that viral YouTube series—who says he would happily see generative AI vanish entirely from filmmaking. This is a bit of a contrast considering some of Hollywood’s big names are currently running towards AI like moths to a flamethrower.
Kane Parsons: Not Having It with AI
Parsons, just 20 years old and already helming a major horror project, laid out his thoughts in an interview with The Australian. When pressed about the future, he didn’t mince words:
'If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would.'
For Parsons, there’s simply no creative buzz in offloading the interesting bits to algorithms. To use his own words, dragging AI into his filmmaking 'defeats the purpose entirely.' Now, he’s not some Luddite waving pitchforks at technology—he does admit that AI has its place as a practical tool, especially when it comes to the tedious, logistical side of VFX work. If there’s grunt work to do, let the computer do it.
But—and it’s a pretty big but—he argues the reality is anything but tidy. The speed at which AI tech is bulldozing its way into culture is already having proper, real-world consequences. Trying to frame AI as just another gadget in the filmmaking shed misses the bigger problems it can create.
What About Using AI in Storytelling?
In a bit of an unexpected pivot, Parsons said he’s actually interested in exploring AI as a subject within the stories he’s telling, rather than letting it handle the storytelling. He’s clocked the weird deluge of AI-generated imagery now washing through advertising and social media. For Parsons, all these auto-created visuals aren’t an impressive breakthrough—they’re more like 'a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.' So for him, the fascination isn’t with what AI can produce, but what AI says about us and our culture.
Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese Welcomes the Robot Overlords
On the other side of this debate, you’ve got Martin Scorsese. The legendary director’s recently signed on as an adviser with Black Forest Labs, an AI company. Scorsese sees the tech as a way to open up new creative possibilities—and specifically to make it easier for him to get his ideas across visually to his entire team: production designers, cinematographers, the lot. For him, it’s less existential threat, more handy communication tool.
- Kane Parsons: Sees AI as the enemy of creative satisfaction, wants to probe its cultural impact on camera, not bow to it behind the scenes.
- Martin Scorsese: Welcomes AI as a tool to help bridge storytelling and design, arguing it can aid in pre-production and expand creative options.