Matt Damon discusses how streaming has changed movie storytelling; says, ‘People are on their phones while watching’

Matt Damon

• Matt Damon says streaming platforms are changing how films are made and consumed
• Filmmakers now adjust pacing and dialogue for distracted home viewers
• Ben Affleck: Compelling stories can succeed without formulaic changes

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Matt Damon has offered insights at how streaming platforms, like Netflix, are reshaping the fundamentals of filmmaking, from narrative structure to dialogue itself. Appearing alongside longtime collaborator Ben Affleck on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Matt reflected on the creative recalibrations filmmakers are now being encouraged to make in order to hold the attention of distracted, at-home audiences.

The duo were on the podcast to promote their upcoming Netflix feature The Rip, but the conversation soon widened into a broader discussion about how movies are consumed today. Matt Damon noted that audiences engage with films very differently in living rooms compared to traditional theaters, where phones are tucked away and attention is more focused. According to him, that shift has prompted streamers to rethink everything from pacing to plot clarity.

“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. You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale. And now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay. 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,’” Matt explained.

Matt Damon’s comments highlight an industry-wide anxiety about how to compete not just with other films, but with social media, notifications, and the endless scroll that now accompanies home viewing. The implication, he suggested, is that films must constantly remind viewers what’s happening, lest they miss crucial details while glancing at their screens.

Ben Affleck, however, was quick to push back against the idea that this formula is the only path to success on streaming platforms. He pointed to Netflix’s limited series Adolescence as a powerful counterexample, one that succeeded precisely because it resisted many of these perceived rules.

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“But then you look at ‘Adolescence,’ and it didn’t do any of that shit,” Ben Affleck said. “And it’s fucking great. And it’s dark too. It’s tragic and intense. [It’s about] this guy who finds out his kid is accused of murder. There are long shots of the back of their heads. They get in the car, nobody says anything.”

For Ben, the series proves that audiences are still willing to engage deeply with challenging, restrained storytelling when the material is compelling enough. Matt Damon, while agreeing on the show’s quality, suggested such successes may be rare.