Netflix is acquiring Ben Affleck’s AI-powered filmmaking company, InterPositive, for an undisclosed sum. In a video accompanying the announcement, Affleck said InterPositive’s tools let filmmakers build proprietary AI models from footage they’ve shot and use that data to address laborious production tasks.
“You can use your own model to remove the wires on stunts, reframe a shot, get a shot you missed, shape the lighting, enhance the backgrounds,” Affleck said. He has also joined Netflix as a senior advisor.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents many of Hollywood’s technical workers, told NPR it does not comment on mergers and acquisitions.
This deal follows other recent agreements between Affleck and Netflix. Earlier this week, Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, Artists Equity, signed a multi-year partnership giving Netflix first rights to develop and distribute their future streaming projects. Affleck has released multiple films with Netflix, most recently The Rip, a thriller starring Affleck and Damon.
Affleck has said he wants to keep humans central to creativity and is among hundreds of industry figures who joined the Creators Coalition on AI, a group formed to discuss AI’s impact on entertainment. The coalition describes itself as committed to “responsible, human-centered innovation.”
Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, said in a press release that InterPositive is joining Netflix because both organizations believe innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them. She added that the partnership aims for a future where technology helps make stories while people and their judgment remain at the core.
The InterPositive deal comes about a week after Netflix abandoned its plan to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery; Paramount agreed to acquire the media giant in a transaction valued around $110 billion after the Warner Bros. Discovery board called Paramount’s bid “superior” to an earlier $83 billion deal with Netflix.
Kimberly A. Owczarski, an associate professor at Texas Christian University who studies media franchises, told NPR that partnering with a prominent filmmaker like Affleck sends a positive message to an industry grappling with AI’s growing role. “His status in the industry as a star, filmmaker, and producer gives substantial weight as he promotes a responsible use of AI in filmmaking,” she said.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.