Netflix has made a significant move into artificial intelligence with the acquisition of InterPositive, an AI startup founded by actor and director Ben Affleck in 2022. The streaming giant announced the deal last week, emphasizing how the technology will empower filmmakers rather than replace them. According to Bloomberg, the purchase price could reach as much as $600 million, though Netflix has not officially confirmed the figure.
InterPositive's approach to generative AI stands out in an industry where many tools, such as OpenAI's Sora, Google's Veo, and Runway, have been criticized for falling short in professional entertainment production. These popular models often struggle to produce outputs suitable for high-stakes filmmaking, leading to skepticism about AI's immediate threat to Hollywood jobs. In contrast, InterPositive focuses on creating customizable, or bespoke, AI models tailored specifically to the needs of individual projects, aiming to address concerns like copyright infringement while enhancing creative workflows.
Ben Affleck, known for directing films like Argo and The Town, established InterPositive to bridge the gap between AI innovation and practical filmmaking. In a statement released by Netflix, Affleck described the company's foundational work: "I wanted to build a workflow that captures what happens on a set, with vocabulary that matched the language cinematographers and directors already spoke and included the kind of consistency and controls they would expect." He added that the team filmed a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage, mimicking a full production environment, to train their core model.
This dataset emphasizes filmmaking techniques over actor performances, resulting in smaller, more focused models. "The results of this foundational work were deliberately smaller datasets and models focused on filmmaking techniques — rather than performances — creating tools that artists can use, control, and benefit from," Affleck said. By prioritizing technical aspects like lighting and composition, InterPositive's technology allows for greater control, which filmmakers say aligns better with their established processes.
Under the new arrangement, Netflix plans to integrate InterPositive's models into its production pipeline. Filmmakers can train customized versions of the AI using dailies—raw footage from ongoing shoots—to generate and manipulate visual elements during postproduction. According to Netflix's announcement, this could enable directors to adjust a scene's lighting, remove unwanted details such as prop rigging, or even replace entire backgrounds, all while maintaining consistency with the project's aesthetic.
The potential benefits are clear for a company like Netflix, which produces hundreds of films and series annually. By leveraging project-specific training, the models purportedly match a filmmaker's creative vision more precisely than general-purpose AI. However, the effectiveness of this approach depends on the breadth of InterPositive's core training data. Without universal standards for elements like optimal lighting across genres—from gritty dramas to vibrant animations—additional fine-tuning with dailies appears essential for usable outputs.
Netflix's enthusiasm for the acquisition signals a broader shift in the entertainment industry toward AI integration. The company has previously experimented with generative AI in its productions but has now positioned InterPositive as a cornerstone of its future strategy. Netflix declined to provide further details on deployment timelines or specific projects, but executives framed the technology as a supportive tool that enhances efficiency without displacing human creatives.
InterPositive's model echoes innovations from other AI firms targeting Hollywood. For instance, Asteria, a studio founded by producer Bryn Mooser, offers a similar customizable generative AI model. Asteria's flagship product is trained on licensed, original art datasets to ensure ethical use and avoid intellectual property disputes. Recently, Asteria announced the release of Continuum Suite, an AI-powered operating system that analyzes scripts to create databases covering characters, scenes, storyboards, schedules, and budgets.
While InterPositive concentrates on refining details like visual tweaks in postproduction, Asteria's tools extend to generating complete elements such as characters and background objects that maintain a unified artistic style. "Asteria's big selling point is that its vanilla AI model is 'ethical' because its core dataset is composed of material that the company has licensed," according to reports on the company's developments. This focus on proprietary data helps studios like those partnering with Asteria—for example, on Natasha Lyonne's upcoming virtual reality-themed feature—accelerate production without legal risks.
Both InterPositive and Asteria market their technologies as cost-saving measures that speed up timelines, appealing to studios under pressure to deliver more content amid rising expenses. Netflix's acquisition aligns with this trend, potentially allowing the streamer to increase output while controlling budgets. However, the industry remains cautious; most production houses have not publicly detailed their AI experiments to the extent Netflix has.
Signs of growing AI adoption are evident elsewhere. Adobe, a key player in creative software, recently partnered with multiple studios to develop "IP-safe" AI models integrable across its tools like Photoshop and Premiere Pro. These collaborations aim to create standardized, copyright-compliant AI that supports workflows from pre-production to final edits. Industry observers note that such partnerships could standardize AI use, making it more accessible for independent filmmakers and large studios alike.
Despite the optimism, questions linger about AI's impact on human workers. Proponents argue that tools like InterPositive's empower artists by handling repetitive tasks, freeing them for higher-level creativity. Yet, details on how this translates to job security, higher pay, or reduced workloads are scarce. As Affleck and others emphasize control and customization, skeptics point out that faster, cheaper production primarily benefits studio executives through boosted profits, not necessarily the creative workforce.
The acquisition comes at a pivotal time for Hollywood, following high-profile strikes in 2023 where writers and actors demanded protections against AI encroachment. Unions secured agreements limiting AI's role in scriptwriting and performance replication, but visual effects and postproduction remain gray areas. Netflix's public commitment to "empowering" filmmakers with InterPositive may help navigate these tensions, though concrete examples of implementation will be key to building trust.
Looking ahead, the rise of bespoke AI models could reshape filmmaking fundamentals. For Netflix, integrating InterPositive might debut in upcoming original series or films, though specifics remain under wraps. As competitors like Disney and Warner Bros. observe the results, the industry may see a wave of similar acquisitions or in-house developments. Affleck, now aligned with Netflix, could play a larger role in steering AI toward collaborative tools, drawing from his dual experience as performer and producer.
Ultimately, while the technology promises innovation, its success hinges on balancing efficiency with artistic integrity. Filmmakers using these tools will determine whether AI becomes a true partner or just another cost-cutting measure. As the sector evolves, stakeholders from Affleck's InterPositive team to union representatives will watch closely to ensure that the next era of storytelling amplifies human creativity rather than diminishing it.