Matt Damon Says Netflix Wants Plots Reiterated for Distracted Viewers

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are opening up about the changes Netflix has made to its filmmaking approach.

During a Friday appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience to promote their new Netflix film The Rip, which they star in and produce, the duo discussed the differences between watching a movie in theaters versus at home and how phone-distracted viewers are influencing how films are made.

“I went to see One Battle After Another on IMAX — there’s nothing like that feeling,” Damon said, recalling a trip he took with his family. “You’re in with you know a bunch of strangers, but people in your community and you’re having this experience together. I always say it’s more like going to church — you show up at an appointed time. It doesn’t wait for you.”

Watching at home is a very different experience, Damon said. “You’re watching in a room, the lights are on, other shit’s going on, the kids are running around, the dogs are running around, whatever it is. It’s just a very different level of attention that you’re willing, or that you’re able to give to it.”

Damon then explained how that shift is now affecting how movies are made.

“For instance, Netflix — the standard way to make an action movie, that we learned, was you usually have three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third — and the big one with all the explosions and you spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your kind of finale.”

The Departed actor added, “Now, [Netflix is] like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes?’ We want people to stay tuned in. And it wouldn’t be terrible if you reiterated the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching.”

After laughing with Rogan, Damon added, “It’s going to really start to infringe on how we’re telling these stories.”

Affleck then chimed in, “But then you look at Adolescence and it didn’t do any of that shit and it was fucking great.”

Damon agreed but said, “It feels more like the exception,” adding, “I hope it’s not.”

“My feeling is just that it demonstrates that you don’t need to do any of that shit to get people [to watch],” Affleck said.

He also noted that streaming doesn’t pose an “existential threat” and that “things shift. As television came along, there was less theater-going and that’s still going to happen. And people are still going to go to the movies because of what you said. It feels like a cool thing to do. ‘I’m going to go see The Odyssey. I guarantee you in a theater, no matter what.”

For The Rip, which the filmmakers produced through their company Artists Equity, Affleck and Damon pushed Netflix to strike a deal that would reward their crew with bonuses if the film performs well — a departure from the streaming service’s business model of only paying fees up front.