Actor Matt Damon has offered a candid look at how streaming platforms, particularly Netflix, are reshaping the way films are written and structured to hold viewers’ attention. Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience alongside long-time collaborator Ben Affleck, Damon said filmmakers are now being nudged to adapt to distracted viewing habits.
According to Damon, Netflix has encouraged writers and directors to make their storytelling more explicit, even asking characters to spell out the plot multiple times through dialogue. The reason, he suggested, is simple: audiences are often multitasking. “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,” he said.
He also pointed out that the traditional grammar of action films is being reworked. Damon explained that the classic model involved three major action set pieces, with the biggest and most expensive sequence reserved for the final act. “You usually have three set pieces… and you spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale,” he said. But streaming, he noted, has changed that logic. Platforms now want something explosive right at the start. “Now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay.’”
Affleck, however, was quick to add that not every Netflix project follows this formula. Pointing to the series Adolescence, he argued that the platform also backs more restrained, unconventional storytelling. “It didn’t do any of that,” Affleck said. “And it’s great. And it’s dark too. It’s tragic and intense.” Describing the show, he noted how it relies on silence and long, unbroken moments rather than constant exposition. “There are long shots of the back of their heads. They get in the car; nobody says anything.”
Both actors can now be seen on Netflix's The Rip, a film that recently premiered in New York. The project has attracted attention not just for its story, which follows two Miami cops who stumble upon hidden money, but also for its financial model.
