AI is a sensitive subject in the entertainment industry. It even led to a widespread industry shutdown in 2023. Perhaps that is why it came as a surprise to learn that a leading Hollywood actor/director/screenwriter/producer has quietly been working on a generative AI post-production tool called InterPositive. This information came to light when Netflix announced it had inked a deal with that person, Ben Affleck, and his partners to acquire the technology. Both the studio and InterPositive developers say the tool assists filmmakers while keeping creative decisions in the hands of the filmmakers.
Many Hollywood stars are going to great lengths to protect themselves from AI stealing their likeness and their means of making living. Is Ben Affleck one of them, or is he is of the mindset, “If you can’t beat them, join them”?
The Oscar-winning actor, screenwriter, productor, and director had been seriously working on an AI solution for filmmakers during the time when his colleagues and friends were striking over their concerns regarding the technology. Few people knew about this, and those who did were obviously keeping it a secret. That is, until recently, when late last week Netflix announced that it had acquired Affleck’s AI start-up, called InterPositive, for what could top out at a cool $600 million if certain provisions are met.
InterPositive is billed as a production technology built by filmmakers—a tool that helps filmmakers work more efficiency in post. Affleck describes it as a tool designed to solve the specific problems that he, as a filmmaker, encounter, which connects users to the filmmaking.
“It’s not about text prompting or generating something from nothing. You are building a model from your own material,” he states.
