Matt Damon talks about movies and cinema in a podcast. He explained that intentionally lowering the quality of new content helps people understand what they are watching. Important information and most of the plot need to be presented in the first 5 minutes.
Many probably know Matt Damon as Jason Bourne from the Bourne series. In a conversation with the “Joe Rogan” podcast, which you can watch on YouTube, he talked about the film business.
Here, he explained that Netflix has special requirements for its writers: The company explicitly asks them to repeat important plot points in the dialogue multiple times so that viewers, who are glued to their phones, can at least understand what is happening on the screen:
Netflix’s standard method for producing an action film, as we’ve learned, usually consists of three distinct scenes. One in the first act, one in the second, and one in the third.
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Today’s question is: Can we include a big scene in the first five minutes to captivate the audience? We want people to stay engaged, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing to repeat the plot three or four times in the dialogue since people are on their phones while watching.
Especially young people increasingly use their phones or other mobile devices in everyday life. The Gen Z is considered the generation that was “born with a phone in hand” and for Generation Alpha, the phone is also a staple of daily life.
Modern viewers simply have no concentration and no patience anymore
Damon explained that modern viewers simply cannot focus or be patient anymore because so much is happening: While watching a movie, children run around demanding things, and pets are tearing through the house while one simultaneously looks at their phone.
Important points, according to Damon, must be shown and named right at the beginning of the film. Otherwise, viewers won’t finish watching the movie because they can’t understand the plot.
The actor and screenwriter also added that directors no longer see the sense in focusing on cinematography since most people watch movies on phones, tablets, and laptops. Cinematography is the art and technique of film image creation to tell a visual story.
By the way, Damon will take on his next leading role in Christopher Nolan’s new film ‘The Odyssey’. Here, he takes on the role of Odysseus. Even before the new film by Christopher Nolan is released, the adaptation has achieved its first big success: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ breaks its first record even before release, trailer viewed 121 million times
