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Ben Affleck has revealed he used artificial intelligence for “lots of things” in his new movie Animals.
The Argo director, who sold his AI filmmaking startup InterPositive to Netflix earlier this year, revealed during a discussion at Bloomberg’s 2026 Screentime event on Wednesday that he used the technology on the crime thriller, which he co-wrote, directed and stars in.
However, he declined to divulge how and where AI was used in his film, insisting that it would spoil the movie magic.
“I used (AI) for lots of things in that movie. I’m a little bit hesitant to point out what they are – or even talk about it – because in my business, we’re trying to foster the illusion of reality, right?” he said. “It’s sort of like if you went to a magic show and the magician walked out and said, ‘Just before I start, I want you to know there’s another bunny under here. (And) this guy’s a plant.’ You know, it’s sort of ruined, right? But yes, we did use it, and in fact, I thought it was a good example (of how to use AI ethically) because it’s a very human movie.”
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In the crime thriller, Affleck stars as a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. The film, which also stars Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson and Steven Yuen, premieres on Netflix on 9 October.
The Oscar-winning writer founded InterPositive, which makes post-production tools, in 2022 and sold it to Netflix for $587 million (£444 million) in March this year.
Affleck believes people will be less panicked about the technology once they spend time with AI tools and gain “a sense of control” over them, insisting that the tech will stop being “this nebulous, abstract, terrifying alien” once people “actually see what it is”.
“It’s another form of computing… a technological advancement that’s really in keeping with the longstanding series of technological improvements we’ve made in the film and television business,” he insisted.
