Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's film tech company InterPositive
When a 15-second AI-generated clip showing a fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise recently went viral, it was met with a mix of anger and despair from people in Hollywood.
The clip was created by Irish director Ruairi Robinson using Seedance 2.0, an artificial intelligence video generation tool owned by ByteDance, the Chinese technology company that also owns TikTok.
According to Robinson, he made the widely circulated clip using "a 2 line prompt" in Seedance.
"I hate to say it. It's likely over for us," Rhett Reese, a Hollywood writer and producer who has worked on the Deadpool franchise, posted on X.
Meanwhile, the Motion Picture Association accused ByteDance of "infringement" of copyrighted works.
“In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale,” Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MBA, said in a statement. “By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs.
"ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
As Hollywood frets about the potential disruption that AI will cause for its industry, Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) announced on Thursday that it has acquired InterPositive, a film technology company founded by Hollywood star Ben Affleck, who also serves as its chief executive.
According to a press release announcing the acquisition, InterPositive is described as a company that "develops AI-powered tools built by and for filmmakers." Netflix noted that it was "investing in creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process," which is likely an attempt to try and allay industry fears about its intentions with AI.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Affleck will serve as a senior advisor under the new agreement, with InterPositive's engineers, researchers and creative team joining Netflix.
Netflix wants to ‘empower storytellers, not replace them’
In a statement, Affleck said that he began to observe the early rise of AI in film production in 2022, seeing "how these models came up short."
He said it was important "to preserve what makes storytelling human, which is judgment." He added that this judgement "takes decades to build, experience to hone and that only people can have."
"I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it," Affleck said. "In creating InterPositive, I sought to do just that. Investing in creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process."
Elizabeth Stone, chief product and technology officer for Netflix, said that the company will "continue building towards a future of entertainment where technology plays a part in how stories are made, but people — and their ideas, craft and judgment — remain at the core of great storytelling.”
“Our approach to AI has always been focused on meaningfully serving the needs of the creative community and our members,” she said. “The InterPositive team is joining Netflix because of our shared belief that innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them.”
With Netflix recently walking away from its deal with Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD), the acquisition of Affleck's company seems to show that it is instead ramping up its focus on developing organic content.
In a statement announcing that it would not make a counteroffer for WBD after Paramount Skydance raised its bid to $110 billion, Netflix co-founders Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters indicated that the company planned to invest about $20 billion in expanding its entertainment offering through movies and streaming shows.
JPMorgan upgraded Netflix to Overweight from Neutral after it ended its pursuit of WBD, calling the company a "healthy organic growth story ," while citing its global subscriber growth, strong content and continued pricing power.
NFLX shares stayed flat on Thursday after the announcement of the InterPositive acquisition.