{"id":420377,"date":"2026-01-18T03:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/420377\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T03:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:09:09","slug":"damon-and-affleck-say-netflix-has-writers-constantly-reiterate-the-plot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/420377\/","title":{"rendered":"Damon and Affleck say Netflix has writers constantly reiterate the plot"},"content":{"rendered":"

With their brand new film, The Rip<\/a> (see our review here<\/a>), launching on Netflix<\/a> this weekend, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are making the rounds to promote the hell out of their new thriller from director Joe Carnahan. One stop on the duo\u2019s list is The Joe Rogan Experience<\/a> podcast, where they spoke about the shift in the moviegoing experience, especially when the venue is your own living room.<\/p>\n

Matt Damon on the demands of streaming<\/p>\n

Speaking about watching movies at home, Damon said, trying to compete for the audience\u2019s attention is an uphill battle. There\u2019s so much competition: lights being on, people looking at their phones, kids playing, and dogs barking. You\u2019re doing your best to hold their attention, but there\u2019s so much going on around them that it\u2019s challenging to hold court. Damon continues by saying these factors change the way you make movies. For example, instead of saving the project\u2019s most significant set pieces for the big finale, studios want you to \u201cgo big or go home\u201d within the first couple of minutes to hook viewers and keep them from turning off the movie. When you pay money to see a film in a theater, that\u2019s what you\u2019re there to do. Still, when you\u2019re home, it\u2019s all too easy to abandon ship and make excuses to engage with the rest of your life.<\/p>\n

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck on Rogan taking about how Netflix has changed filmmaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cyou re-iterate the plot 3-4x in the dialogue because people are on their phones.\u201d
pic.twitter.com\/YxybQJQubE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 cinesthetic. (@TheCinesthetic) January 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to wanting an expensive hook near the film\u2019s start, Damon says studios ask you to reiterate your plot three to four times to remind audiences what\u2019s transpired. Why? Again, people are on their phones. I\u2019m guilty of this from time to time, but it also depends on the environment. If I\u2019m in my living room, it\u2019s easy for my ADHD to kick into overdrive, and my phone\u2019s right there. However, if I\u2019m in a theater or at my friend\u2019s home theater that he built, I\u2019m locked in. I put my phone away. I don\u2019t doom scroll. It\u2019s nice.<\/p>\n

While discussing what grabs their attention, Damon and Affleck praised Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham\u2019s Adolescence, a celebrated crime drama series on Netflix, calling it masterfully shot and holding your attention in the palm of its hand throughout.<\/p>\n

Affleck vouches for the moviegoing experience<\/p>\n

While Affleck agrees with Damon\u2019s assessment of the situation, he also sees the battle for attention as something to overcome. \u201cMake shit the best you can. Make it really good,\u201d Affleck says with certainty and defiance. He also thinks people will always go to the movies. When people talk about movies like Christopher Nolan\u2019s The Odyssey, they\u2019re talking about going to the cinema to see it. There\u2019s a demand to see a film of that magnitude on the big screen. Your at-home setup might be good, but there\u2019s nothing quite like experiencing a movie like that with a crowd.<\/p>\n

Finally, Damon and Affleck discuss budgeting and how a movie needs to recoup a specific amount to be considered a success. Not only do you need to get people to show up, but you also need them to show up on opening weekend. You need these people to talk about your movie and inspire people to follow their lead. If audiences don\u2019t buzz about a film during opening weekend, it\u2019s now locked in a battle for attention with everything else. If a movie costs $25 million to produce, it needs to make at least $125 million to matter, in the grand scheme. The industry is an ourobouros, and it\u2019s forever hungry.<\/p>\n

\"JoBlo<\/p>\n

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Source:
\n The Joe Rogan Experience<\/a><\/p>\n