Less than a week after walking away from an $82.7 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix made a very different kind of acquisition yesterday: it bought InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup that’s been operating in stealth mode since 2022.
The price? Undisclosed. The team? All 16 employees joining Netflix. And Affleck himself? Joining as Senior Advisor to guide how Netflix deploys AI in content production.
The timing is fascinating. Netflix just demonstrated they won’t overpay for traditional media assets, but they’ll write a check for AI tools that promise to “lower the barrier to entry” for filmmaking. That says everything about where Hollywood is headed.
InterPositive doesn’t generate videos from text prompts like OpenAI’s Sora. It doesn’t create synthetic actors or deepfake performances. Instead, it builds custom AI models from your existing dailies the raw footage you’ve already shot then lets you use those models in post-production to relight scenes, remove wires from stunts, reframe shots, replace backgrounds, and fix missed coverage.
As Affleck puts it: “It’s not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing. AI, people mostly think of it as making something from nothing: ‘I’m gonna type something into a computer and it’s gonna give me a movie.’ That’s not what this is.”
What it is: post-production automation that promises to handle “the more laborious, less creative and more costly aspects of filmmaking.”
And that’s where this gets complicated. Because in Hollywood, those “laborious aspects” employ thousands of people.
What InterPositive Actually Does
Not generative video: InterPositive doesn’t create footage from scratch. You can’t type “detective walks through rainy alley” and get a clip.
Not synthetic actors: No deepfakes. No digital performances. No replacing human actors.
What it actually does:
- Custom Model Training – Upload your dailies → InterPositive builds a proprietary AI model based on your specific production
- Post-Production Problem Solving – Use that custom model to:
- Remove rigging and wires from stunt work
- Relight scenes that were shot in poor lighting
- Reframe shots to fix composition
- Replace backgrounds
- Add or enhance visual effects
- Mix and color grade more efficiently
- Fix missed shots or coverage gaps
The value proposition: Faster post-production, lower costs, more creative flexibility, no need for expensive reshoots on fixable problems.
Why Netflix Bought It
Cost Containment: If InterPositive’s tools can reduce Netflix’s $20 billion content budget by even 10-15%, that’s $300-500 million in annual savings.
Speed to Market: Post-production bottlenecks delay releases. AI tools can accelerate editing, color grading, and VFX work.
Competitive Moat: By making it exclusive to Netflix creators, they gain an advantage over competitors.
Talent Relationship: Affleck is a massive name. Bringing him on as Senior Advisor signals to Hollywood that Netflix takes creative concerns seriously.
The WBD Contrast: Netflix walked away from $82.7B for Warner Bros. but will invest in future-facing technology. InterPositive (probably $50-150M) is pocket change with arguably better ROI potential.
The Affleck Contradiction
At the 2024 CNBC Delivering Alpha Summit, Affleck said: “AI cannot write you Shakespeare. Nothing new is created by large language models.”
But in the same talk: “What AI is going to do is disintermediate the more laborious, less creative and more costly aspects of filmmaking.”
The contradiction: Affleck argues AI can’t replace creative talent (writers, directors, actors jobs like his). But AI can replace technical talent (VFX, color grading, post-production jobs that employ thousands).
His framing: “This will democratize filmmaking!”
The reality: Tools that reduce post-production costs also reduce post-production employment.
What This Means for Workers
VFX Artists: Tasks like wire removal, background replacement, and shot fixes are core VFX work. If AI handles these autonomously, demand for VFX labor drops.
Colorists: AI-assisted color grading reduces billable hours and potentially headcount.
Camera Operators: Tools that can “get a shot you missed” or “reframe” coverage reduce the imperative for comprehensive shooting.
Even if AI doesn’t eliminate jobs entirely, it reduces billable hours. Freelancers see fewer opportunities. Salaried workers face headcount reductions.
The Hollywood Reaction
IATSE (Technical Workers Union): “We do not comment on mergers and acquisitions.” That’s not neutrality — that’s “we’re watching this very carefully.”
The Unspoken Fear: InterPositive’s tools automate work currently done by VFX artists, colorists, lighting technicians, and camera operators.
The Bottom Line
Netflix walking away from Warner Bros. was dramatic, but the InterPositive acquisition might be more strategically important long-term.
Warner Bros. was about the past: Buying established franchises, existing libraries, declining cable TV assets.
InterPositive is about the future: AI-powered production tools, cost efficiency, technological competitive advantages.
The signal to Hollywood: Don’t expect Netflix to rescue struggling legacy media companies. But if you’ve built AI tools that promise to make content production faster, cheaper, or better they’re listening.
The coming fight: IATSE and technical unions will demand AI protections in upcoming negotiations. Studios will resist limitations on technology adoption. The conflict is inevitable.
Whether InterPositive becomes a model for “responsible AI in filmmaking” or a cautionary tale about automation depends entirely on implementation over the next 2-3 years.
Leave a Reply