Ben Affleck Used AI for "Lots of Things" in Animals

A week before Animals opened on Netflix and in select theaters on October 9, Ben Affleck, who co-wrote, directed and stars in it, said he "did use" AI "for lots of things" in the film. He would not say which shots: "In my business, we're trying to foster the illusion of reality. 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 he framed it as the right test case: "It's a very human movie."

The comment carried weight because of who said it. Earlier in 2026 Netflix had bought InterPositive, the AI post-production company Affleck founded, which trains a model on a production's own dailies to relight, recolor and fix shots, for $587 million in cash, and kept him on as an adviser. Animals came from the man who built the tool, on the platform that now owns it, and its director chose not to point at the seams.