Netflix has acquired InterPositive, the AI-driven filmmaking tools company founded by Ben Affleck, for an undisclosed sum. In an announcement video, Affleck described InterPositive’s platform as a way for filmmakers to train proprietary AI models on their own footage to automate time-consuming technical tasks. He said creators can use their own models to remove stunt wires, reframe shots, recover missed takes, shape lighting, and enhance backgrounds. Affleck has also joined Netflix as a senior advisor.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents many behind-the-scenes workers in Hollywood, told NPR it does not comment on mergers and acquisitions.
The deal builds on an existing relationship between Affleck and Netflix. Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, Artists Equity, has a multi-year partnership that gives Netflix first consideration to develop and distribute their future streaming projects. Affleck has released multiple films with the streamer, most recently The Rip, a thriller in which he and Damon play Miami narcotics officers who discover hidden drug money.
Affleck is also one of hundreds of industry figures who joined the Creators Coalition on AI, a group that advocates for ‘responsible, human-centered innovation’ in entertainment. The coalition emphasizes that while AI will play a role in the industry, human creativity should remain central.
Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, said InterPositive is joining the company because both organizations share a view that innovation should ’empower storytellers, not replace them.’ She added that Netflix wants technology to help shape how stories are made while keeping people—and their ideas, craft, and judgment—at the core.
The acquisition was announced a little more than a week after Netflix withdrew a planned bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount went on to reach a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a transaction valued at roughly $110 billion after WBD’s board deemed Paramount’s offer superior to an earlier $83 billion proposal from Netflix.
Kimberly A. Owczarski, an associate professor at Texas Christian University who studies media franchises, said Netflix’s partnership with a prominent filmmaker like Affleck sends a reassuring message to an industry wrestling with the implications of AI. She told NPR that Affleck’s standing as a star, filmmaker, and producer adds weight to efforts promoting responsible use of AI in filmmaking.
This story was edited by Jennifer Vanasco.