Actor Matt Damon explained some stipulations Netflix has for movies, taking into account what they describe as short attention spans from viewers.
The 55-year-old Academy Award-winner made the revelation during a recent appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast while promoting his new Netflix project, “The Rip.”
Damon said traditional movie setups have changed due to audiences being accustomed to short-form content, also because they’re only half paying attention as they check their phones.
“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,” Damon said.
“You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale,” he added. “And now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay. 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.’”
Damon’s longtime collaborator Ben Affleck chimed in, pointing out that the Netflix hit “Adolescence” did not follow the formula and was still a success. “It didn’t do any of that sh*t,” Affleck said. “And it’s f*cking great.”
The interview comes on the heels of Netflix announcing they are acquiring Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO, in a massive deal valued at $82.7 billion.
This move has led to criticism from the public, especially as rumors persisted that Netflix planned to reduce how long streaming customers had to wait to watch new theatrical releases. Multiple outlets reported that the window would be shortened from six weeks to seventeen days.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos attempted to put those rumors to rest during a recent interview with The New York Times.
“We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows,” he told the outlet. “I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.”
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