Netflix is acquiring InterPositive, the AI-powered filmmaking tools company founded by Ben Affleck, for an undisclosed sum. In a video accompanying the announcement, Affleck said InterPositive’s technology lets filmmakers build proprietary AI models from their own footage to handle laborious technical 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 Hollywood technical workers, told NPR it does not comment on mergers and acquisitions.
The deal follows other recent agreements between Affleck and Netflix. Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, Artists Equity, signed a multi-year partnership giving Netflix first consideration to develop and distribute their future streaming projects. Affleck has released several films with Netflix, most recently The Rip, a thriller in which he and Damon star as Miami narcotics officers who find hidden drug money.
Affleck is among hundreds of industry figures who joined the Creators Coalition on AI, which calls for “responsible, human-centered innovation” in entertainment. The coalition’s stance, the group says, acknowledges the presence of AI while emphasizing that humans should remain central to creativity.
Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, said InterPositive is joining Netflix because both organizations believe innovation should “empower storytellers, not replace them.” She added that Netflix aims to build a future where technology contributes to how stories are made while people — and their ideas, craft and judgment — remain at the core of storytelling.
The acquisition comes a little over a week after Netflix withdrew from a planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery; Paramount agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued around $110 billion after the WBD board called Paramount’s bid superior to an earlier $83 billion offer from Netflix.
Kimberly A. Owczarski, an associate professor at Texas Christian University who studies media franchises, said Netflix partnering with a high-profile filmmaker like Affleck sends a reassuring message to an industry grappling with the implications of AI. “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 told NPR.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.