Netflix has completed the acquisition of InterPositive, the AI-driven film technology startup launched by Ben Affleck in 2022. The company, dedicated to creating AI tools for filmmakers, will now operate exclusively within Netflix, marking a significant move in integrating innovative technology into film production.
InterPositive focuses on crafting AI solutions designed by and for filmmakers with an aim to enhance creative freedom. Netflix emphasized that this acquisition aligns with their ongoing commitment to support creator-led innovation that keeps artists at the core of the storytelling process.
InterPositive Team Joins Netflix With Affleck as Adviser
Alongside acquiring InterPositive, Netflix will onboard the entire team behind the startup and retain Ben Affleck as a senior adviser. Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, remarked on the shared philosophy between the two organizations.
The InterPositive team is joining Netflix because of our shared belief that innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them,
Elizabeth Stone, Netflix chief product and technology officer
InterPositive’s impressive technology is purpose-built for filmmakers and showrunners to work with tools that naturally support their creative visions and how they want to bring them to life.
Elizabeth Stone, Netflix chief product and technology officer
Affleck’s Vision for Human-Centered Storytelling Through AI
Ben Affleck, acclaimed for directing and starring in films such as Argo (2012), Pearl Harbor (2001), and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), initiated InterPositive after observing critical gaps in how AI was being applied to filmmaking. His goal was to ensure that storytelling remained fundamentally human despite technological advances.
Working with engineers, Affleck developed a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage, resembling a real production environment, to train InterPositive’s initial AI model. This model is designed to handle complex challenges in filmmaking like missing shots, background changes, and lighting irregularities while respecting core cinematic principles.
trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, while preserving cinematic rules under real-world production challenges like missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting,
Ben Affleck, founder of InterPositive
keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists.
Ben Affleck, founder of InterPositive
Context of AI in Hollywood Amid Industry Concerns
This acquisition arrives at a time when AI use in Hollywood faces significant scrutiny. Many in the film community, including Affleck’s union SAG-AFTRA, are negotiating new contract terms that seek to provide protections against the misuse of AI technology affecting human talent. Additionally, a number of studios have recently issued legal warnings to Chinese tech company ByteDance over unauthorized usage of copyrighted content in their AI video platform, known as Seedance 2.0.
The developments surrounding InterPositive and Netflix signal an important step in responsibly integrating AI tools in filmmaking, focusing on supporting rather than replacing creative professionals while addressing growing industry concerns about technology.
