In an era where the way people are watching movies is changing, and theatrical distribution continues to shrink, streaming platforms like Netflix have been seen as both a threat and a savior. Movies that used to get released in theaters are now finding a new home on streaming platforms, but the way those movies are being produced is also changing, thanks to the way people watch movies at home.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s newest movie The Rip is exactly the sort of film, a character-focused drama about corrupt cops fighting over money, that once would have been released in theaters, but is now available with a Netflix subscription instead. The pair recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. And while they were both very complimentary of streaming (and Netflix specifically) for being a place where a movie like The Rip could exist, Damon indicated the streamer had some notes on the film. He said…
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, they kind of ramp up, 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. 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.
We’d heard various rumors and comments to this effect, but this really spells out a lot about the world of streaming. It may give movies that ca’t find a home theatrically a place to be made, but it won’t do so without having a material impact on the film itself. The idea of adding an action sequence or changing the script in ways specifically to cater to a person who isn’t paying complete attention may be understandable. Still, it’s also more than a little depressing.
I mean, I get it. Sometimes when we’re watching something at home, we’re doing other things. Even before we had phones, we might be making dinner or folding laundry while watching a movie on TV. We’ve never been entirely free of distraction. That said, the idea of adapting the content for that distracted audience is new, and for anybody who is paying full attention, having characters explain the plot four times is going to make the movie worse, not better.
Ben Affleck points out that these aren’t hard and fast rules at Netflix. Adolescence, one of the streamer’s most critically acclaimed and popular projects, doesn’t have any of this, so it’s not like this is required make a project for Netflix. However, Damon thinks that as streamers only become a bigger part of the media landscape, it’s going to have an impact. He adds...
It’s going to really start to infringe on how we’re telling these stories.
It’s not hard to see how Matt Damon could be right, and how it could all become much more prevalent. If and when Netflix takes control of Warner Bros., could we even see movies that start their lives theatrically include elements designed to make them work better once they do arrive on the streaming platform? It’s certainly not impossible.
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