Matt Damon Exposes the Tricks Netflix Uses to Cater to Distracted Viewers

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have obviously been around Hollywood for decades, and they have noticed a major change since streaming services like Netflix began shaping the way movies are made.

During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experienceto promote their new Netflix film “The Rip,” Damon and Affleck exposed some ways that Netflix has changed the way movies are made.

Catering to Distracted Viewers

During their interview with Rogan, Damon explained that the studio changes how movies are made in order to cater to a distracted audience watching at home rather than in a movie theatre.

“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 explained via Variety. “You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale. And now they’re like, 'Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay.'”

Damon also said that Netflix wanted to make sure that they reiterated the plot in the dialogue multiple times for distracted viewers.

“'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 said, quoting the studio.

There Are Exceptions

While this is clearly the recipe Netflix wanted them to follow, not every show has to follow that formula.

Affleck pointed out that the hit Netflix show Adolescence, which just collected a few awards at the Golden Globes, did not follow that formula at all.

“But then you look at ‘Adolescence,’ and it didn’t do any of that [stuff]” Affleck said. “And it’s [freaking] great. And it’s dark too. It’s tragic and intense. [It’s about] this guy who finds out his kid is accused of murder. There are long shots of the back of their heads. They get in the car, nobody says anything.”

Affleck said he felt that the success of Adolescence "demonstrates you don’t have to" use the tricks to please audiences.