Author: Max Profit

Maybe the real Warner Bros Discovery was the AI Ben Afflecks we bought along the way

Still feeling like their studio-buying itch hasn’t been scratched, Netflix has announced that they’ve just bought InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI production software company for anywhere up to $600 (million) dollars in real money.

Affleck (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) worked on the technology in secret for years before securing investment in 2025. The tools he developed have already been employed in an upcoming David Fincher (Alien3) film staring Brad Pitt (Cool World).

Announcing the merger, Netflix has released a sit-down discussion between Affleck and Netflix’s CPTO and CCO. The video, which I found surprisingly wholesome and persuasive, features an oddly exasperated Baffleck explaining that, “No, no! Don’t worry! This isn’t the bad kind of AI, we promise!!”

Ben Affleck is just really tired and doesn’t want to act anymore

As he explains, the tools he’s developed at InterPositive consist of simple post-production AI tools that aren’t designed to replace actors, artists or create a whole movie for you. No, you still have to shoot the whole movie first but then you can use Affleck’s (now Netflix’s) AI tools to train on what you’ve shot and get it to remove booms in frame, replace some set dressing, tweak some lighting.

If you’re still skeptical, well, you should be. All those changes are still jobs that require humans and artistry. We’ve seen enough AI slop and Tilly Fucking Norwoods to know that AI cannot fully replace human filmmaking.

But maybe that’s old man yelling at cloud. Technology has constantly changed and shaped the industry and at every stage people have shaked fist at cloud.

Matte paintings. Sound. Miniatures. Color. Green screen. Digital camera. CGI. At one point all of these were seen as a lazy filmmaking and taking away from the artistry of the filmmakers. Now all of them are indelible to modern films.

But then on another, third hand, it could be argued that these powerful technologies have allowed filmmakers to lean on a ‘fix it in post’ mentality. To not light properly because the digital cameras will catch everything. To not to decide on costumes, sets, locations ahead of time because it can be CG-ed or reshot later. It could be argued that tech that makes filmmaking easier leads to lazier, flatter and less technically competent films that makes audiences ask, “Why don’t movies look like movies any more?”

But despite the tech, every decade has great films and bad films. There’s clearly a happy middle ground.

And love it or hate it, AI is the next technology on that list, it will (and already is) being employed to make films and that’s only going to become more common. Ben Affleck (or all people) saw this and thought, I’mma get ahead of this before it gets ahead of me.

And now Netflix are paying him millions for the foresight.