Ben Affleck confirmed he used artificial intelligence throughout the making of Animals, the thriller he co-wrote, directed, and starred in, premiering October 9 in select theaters and on Netflix. He discussed the decision at a Bloomberg Screentime Q&A and later expanded on it during the film’s premiere, in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter.
Affleck said AI was used primarily in post-production, helping the team move more quickly on certain elements despite Animals being what he called “a very human movie” with no space settings or heavy visual effects. He was initially hesitant to specify exactly where the technology was applied, comparing it to a magician revealing a trick before the show even starts, since preserving the illusion of reality is central to what the film does. Animals, co-written with Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray, stars Affleck as Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball, whose son is kidnapped, forcing him and his wife Abigail, played by Kerry Washington, to scramble for ransom money within hours.
The comments follow Netflix’s $587 million acquisition of InterPositive, the AI company Affleck quietly founded in 2022 and led as CEO before shifting into a senior advisor role after the sale. Affleck laid out a clear ethical line around the technology’s use, saying he wouldn’t use any AI trained on copyrighted work or on the intelligence of a peer or someone he admires, which is why InterPositive built a proprietary dataset specifically to avoid being extractive. He also pushed back on the idea of AI replacing filmmaking entirely, saying he has no interest in films “where you just type things and things come out,” and argued that handing the technology to actual filmmakers, rather than letting outside tech platforms control it unchecked, produces far better results while protecting creators who are guild signatories with real relationships to the industry.
Affleck also addressed broader anxieties about AI’s impact on Hollywood, arguing the technology isn’t the industry’s real problem and pointing instead to declining theatrical attendance, labor stoppages, and production tax incentives as bigger structural issues. He tied his approach to AI back to the philosophy behind Artists Equity, the production company he runs with Matt Damon, built around the idea that everyone involved in a project’s success should be compensated clearly, and said InterPositive follows the same principle: creators can choose to train the technology on their own work and benefit from it, but nothing is taken without consent.
Animals hits select theaters and begins streaming on Netflix October 9.