# Hollywood's Covert AI Race: Scorsese, Affleck, and Aronofsky Quietly Pursue Generative Filmmaking Tools

_General · published 2026-07-12_

Major Hollywood names including Martin Scorsese, Ben Affleck, and Darren Aronofsky are reportedly deep into AI tool exploration for filmmaking, even as most publicly downplay their involvement. Scorsese has aligned with German AI company Black Forest Labs for storyboarding and pre-production, while Affleck invested in AI startup InterPositive — subsequently acquired by Netflix in a deal worth up to $600 million — whose technology handles on-set tasks like lighting adjustment, stunt rope removal, and continuity correction. Industry insiders suggest actual AI usage across studios runs far ahead of what is publicly acknowledged, with unions closely watching for any admission that AI has displaced a union role.

The most concrete near-term example is "Killing Satoshi," described as the closest production to a mainstream AI-integrated blockbuster, using generative backgrounds to slash its budget from a reported $300 million to $70 million. Sources frame Hollywood's current moment as a "new space race" — with the prize being the first widely released film to lean meaningfully on generative AI across production. The tension between creative unions, cautious public posturing, and aggressive behind-the-scenes adoption is expected to break into the open once a high-profile production crosses the line.

## Sources
- [aol.com](https://www.aol.com/articles/hollywood-covert-race-produce-first-130000000.html)
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