Ben Affleck’s Political Thriller 'Animals' Premieres in Los Angeles

Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort, the Netflix political thriller "Animals," premiered Thursday night at the Directors Village Theatre in Los Angeles. The event coincided with a pre-reception celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, featuring local Latino-owned food and beverage vendors.

The film, which stars Affleck as an LA mayoral candidate embroiled in a kidnapping plot, also features Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, and Ray Fisher. "Animals" follows the candidate as he races against time to secure ransom money for his kidnapped son.

During the premiere, Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria highlighted the film's Los Angeles roots. "'Animals' is a love letter to Angelenos," Bajaria stated. "They shot literally all over Los Angeles, something we were committed to along with our partners at Artists Equity. The Los Angeles production employed nearly 900 crew members and supported over 600 local businesses."

Affleck, who also produced the film through his company Artists Equity, expressed his satisfaction with the collaboration with Netflix. "Netflix has made me aware there’s a different and better way," he said. "They’ve been willing to adopt performance-based compensation. They have been supportive of shooting in Los Angeles. These are things that just are not being done, frankly."

Attendees at the premiere included Michael Gandolfini, Jason Bateman, and Matt and Luciana Damon. Following the screening, a reception was held at Baltaire in Brentwood.

"Animals" is scheduled to be released on Netflix on October 9.