Matt Damon points out a major difference with Netflix films and throws shade at viewers
Damen and Ben Affleck were speaking to Joe Rogan about their new Netflix film when they shared a major movie industry change
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have drawn back the curtain on a shocking change taking place within the entertainment industry, as major studios attempt to respond to the changing ways audiences now consume their content.
Damon in particular had some major shade for streaming giant Netflix and the way our changing film and TV watching habits are shaping even the dialogue on-screen, while speaking on the recent instalment of The Joe Rogan Experience.
Both of the frequent collaborators were on the show to promote their latest film, The Rip, which audiences can watch on... yep, you guessed it, Netflix.
But that fact did not seem to stop Damon from dropping some major secrets he learned while working on the production.
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As many people watching at home will be checking their emails, browsing online deals, or just having a good ol' doom-scroll, studios like Netflix know that they have to make some major editorial decisions to keep viewers hooked on their content, the 55-year-old star suggested.
For Damon, it's all about the settings in which people now watch their favorite films or TV programs.
"I went to see One Battle After Another on IMAX — there’s nothing like that feeling,” he shared on the podcast.
“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.”
But this is almost the exact opposite of the atmosphere you get inside someone's home, where suddenly you are competing with all the other parts of modern life that demand our attention, even when consuming a work of art.
Damon continued: “You’re watching in a room, the lights are on, other s**t’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.”
Studios like Netflix know this and, according to The Odyssey actor, they even asked him to make a major stylistic change to dialogue in the film in order to keep people following along, even if they're distracted.
Digging deeper into the issue in front of Rogan, the star added: “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.”
Damon then explained how differently things work now while throwing some shade at the viewers at home, sharing: "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.”
And while this might seem like the source of some of the more flat and straightforward dialogue seen in recent years, this cynical approach to writing could change how people think about creating films or TV shows.
He warned: “It’s going to really start to infringe on how we’re telling these stories.”
But it was not all doom and gloom during the interview, with a more reserved Affleck chiming in about the Netflix series that has been sweeping up awards, the one-shot knife drama Adolescence.
“But then you look at Adolescence and it didn’t do any of that sh*t and it was f**king great,” he added.
Topics: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Netflix, Streaming
William Morgan