Matt Damon and Ben Affleck talk about Netflix’s changes to its approach to filmmaking.
During an appearance Friday on the Joe Rogan Experience to promote their new Netflix film The tear, in which they star and produce, the duo discussed the differences between watching a movie in theaters or at home and how viewers distracted by phones influence the way movies are made.
“I went to see One battle after another on IMAX — there’s nothing like that feeling,” Damon said, remembering a trip he took with his family. “You’re with you know a group of strangers, but the people in your community and you’re having this experience together. I always say it’s more like going to church: you show up at a set time. This is not expected of you.
Watching at home is a very different experience, Damon said. “You look into a room, the lights are on, other shit is going on, kids are running around, dogs are running around, whatever it is. It’s just a very different level of attention that you want or are able to give.”
Damon then explained how this change now affects the way movies are made.
“For example, Netflix – the standard way of doing an action movie, as we learned, was to usually have three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third – and the biggest 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.”
The deceased The actor added: “Now (Netflix) is like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes?’ We want people to stay tuned. And it wouldn’t be great if you repeated the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching.
After laughing with Rogan, Damon added, “This is really going to start to impinge on the way we tell these stories.”
Affleck then interjected: “But then you look Adolescence and it didn’t do any of that and it was really great.
Damon agreed but said, “It seems more like an exception,” adding, “I hope that’s not the case.”
“My feeling is just that it demonstrates that you don’t need to do any of this to get people (to watch),” Affleck said.
He also noted that streaming does not pose an “existential threat” and that “things have changed. With the advent of television, there was less movie theater and that’s still going to happen. And people are still going to movie theaters because of what you said. It’s like a cool thing to do.” The Odyssey. I guarantee it in a theater, no matter what.
For The tear, which the filmmakers produced through their company Artists Equity, Affleck and Damon pushed Netflix to strike a deal that would reward their team with bonuses if the film performs well — a break from the streaming service’s business model of only paying fees up front.
Source | domain www.hollywoodreporter.com
