I had the opportunity to sit down with renowned actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck at the recent CNBC Delivering Alpha Summit. Affleck, the co-founder and CEO of the production company Artists Equity, shared his insights on the evolving landscape of the entertainment industry, the role of artificial intelligence (AI), and his high expectations for the upcoming Skydance acquisition of Paramount Pictures.
His business partner Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners joined Affleck on the panel, and he began by acknowledging the challenges facing today’s creatives. “It’s a little harder to do this job now. You actually have to complete a little bit more; the consumer has more options. They don’t just have three networks; they don’t just have a few studios,” he said. “YouTube is kicking people’s ass. You have to work harder, and you have to be better.”
However, Affleck expressed optimism about the potential of the Skydance deal to rejuvenate Paramount, a studio with a rich history in the industry. “Before Gulf and Western bought Paramount, the original studios were owned by Harry and Jack Warner,” Affleck explained. These individuals served as owners, operators, and founders,” Affleck clarified. “They cared about stories, and that’s what they built,” Affleck explained, before selling them to other companies.
Affleck believes that the shift away from owner-operators to a “management class” has had detrimental effects on the industry. “There is a management class. They come in, and they have a more short-term agenda. There are different incentives at play,” he said.
In contrast, Affleck views David Ellison and Gerry Cardinale as individuals who are not part of the management class. He believes they will approach Paramount’s future as “somebody who’s invested as an owner,” which could be a game-changer for the industry.
“How many public companies are run by the owners? And Hollywood needs more robust entities like Paramount. It’s detrimental to the business when competition diminishes and oligopolies emerge. It doesn’t function as well,” Affleck added.
The conversation then turned to the topic of AI and its potential impact on the entertainment industry. While Affleck acknowledged that AI could disrupt certain aspects of filmmaking, he remains optimistic about the technology’s long-term prospects.
“If AI replaces everything, movies will be among the last things to go.” AI can write you excellent imitative verse that sounds Elizabethan. Affleck stated, “AI cannot write Shakespeare.” “The function of having two actors, or three or four actors, in a room and the taste to discern and construct that is something that currently entirely eludes AI’s capability and I think will for a meaningful period of time.”
According to Affleck, AI will primarily affect the “more laborious, less creative, and more costly aspects of filmmaking,” which could actually benefit the industry by lowering costs and enabling the representation of more diverse voices.
“AI will disintermediate the laborious, less creative, and more costly aspects of filmmaking, thereby reducing costs, lowering entry barriers, amplifying the voices, and facilitating the production of Good Will Huntings,” he stated.
As the interview drew to a close, Affleck and Cardinale provided a glimpse into the inner workings of Artists Equity, with Cardinale revealing that the company has “pre-sold north of $700 million in revenues in seven projects” and is “meaningfully cash flow positive.”
Affleck’s final thoughts on the future of the entertainment industry were both optimistic and pragmatic. He emphasized the importance of aligning incentives and fostering a culture of collaboration and shared success.