Netflix executive and film chief Dan Lin denied that the company mandates or encourages filmmakers to repeat its film plots.
Back in January, Matt Damon appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience, where he claimed Netflix had a standardized way of making an action film including reiterating the plot multiple times in the dialogue so those watching while scrolling on their phone will know what’s happening.
Damon told Joe Rogan, “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 — 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,” he added. “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.”
At the Oscars, Conan O’Brien teamed with Sterling K. Brown to mock the idea in an “updated” version of Casablanca. O’Brien opened the skit saying, “It’s been widely repeated that some studios are now insisting filmmakers repeat information and restate the plot several times in their movies in order to accommodate the modern movie viewer who’s half watching because they’re distracted by their phones.”
Lin reacted to the skit and denied that Netflix engages in such practices telling reporters, “We actually all laughed when we watched that bit at the Oscars, but there’s no such principle.”
“I mean, if you watch our movies or TV shows, we don’t repeat our plot,” he said. “So I don’t know where that comment came from. We are focused on making great movies.”
Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria also said, “I think it’s so offensive to creators and filmmakers to think that, first of all, we could give them a bad note like that and they would just take it.”
Additionally, Head of US-Canada Scripted Series Jinny Howe stated, “We know how much fans are paying attention, and we’re really treating them as sophisticated and as smart as they are, because they call out everything.”
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I watched the movie twice, and never had I the feeling to scroll on my phone, it was suspense and good action all the way.