Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, two of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, are no strangers to the shifting tides of the film industry. But lately, they’ve found themselves not just riding the waves, but actively steering through uncharted waters. During a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, the duo opened up about the ways Netflix—and, by extension, the streaming revolution—has fundamentally altered the way movies are made, watched, and even imagined.
At the center of their discussion was their latest project, The Rip, a Netflix action thriller that sees Damon and Affleck as Miami cops who stumble upon $20 million in a derelict stash house, only to find their loyalties tested as greed and suspicion threaten to tear their team apart. The film, produced by their company Artists Equity, is more than just another entry in the streaming giant’s catalog; it’s a case study in how the demands of the digital age are reshaping cinematic storytelling.
Matt Damon, reflecting on the experience, didn’t mince words about the challenges posed by the home viewing environment. “I went to see One Battle After Another on IMAX—there’s nothing like that feeling,” Damon told Rogan, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “You’re in with a bunch of strangers, but 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 an appointed time. It doesn’t wait for you.”
He contrasted this with the reality of watching movies at home, where “the lights are on, other shit’s going on, the kids are running around, the dogs are running around, whatever it is. It’s just a very different level of attention that you’re willing, or that you’re able to give to it.” According to Damon, this shift in attention isn’t just changing how people watch movies—it’s changing how movies are made.
“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 kind of ramp up to the big one with all the explosions. You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale,” Damon explained on the podcast, echoing comments reported by Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.
But the streaming era, especially on platforms like Netflix, has upended that formula. “Now, [Netflix is] like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay tuned in. 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,’” Damon said, acknowledging the new reality where viewers’ attention is constantly divided.
This isn’t just a creative suggestion—it’s company policy. Netflix writers, according to multiple reports, are often told to have characters “announce what they’re doing” in dialogue, to help distracted viewers keep up. Damon noted, “It’s going to really start to infringe on how we’re telling these stories.”
Ben Affleck, who stars alongside Damon in The Rip, chimed in with his own observations. He pointed to the Netflix series Adolescence as a rare exception to these new rules. “But then you look at Adolescence and it didn’t do any of that shit and it was fucking great,” Affleck said. Damon agreed, but added, “It feels more like the exception. I hope it’s not.”
Affleck argued that Adolescence “demonstrates you don’t have to do any of that shit to get people [to watch].” He also pushed back against the notion that streaming spells doom for the traditional theater experience. “Streaming doesn’t pose an existential threat. Things shift. As television came along, there was less theater-going and that’s still going to happen. And people are still going to go to the movies because of what you said. It feels like a cool thing to do. ‘I’m going to go see The Odyssey. I guarantee you in a theater, no matter what.’”
Still, the realities of streaming are hard to ignore. The demand for instant engagement—action right out of the gate, repeated plot reminders for distracted viewers—reflects a broader anxiety in the industry about holding onto viewers in a world full of competing screens and constant interruptions. Damon summed it up on the Joe Rogan Experience: “It’s also starting to have an effect on how you make movies.”
The business side of streaming is changing too. For The Rip, Affleck and Damon didn’t just settle for Netflix’s standard practice of paying production fees up front. Instead, through Artists Equity, they negotiated a deal that would provide bonuses to their crew if the film performs well—a significant departure from the streaming service’s usual model. As The Hollywood Reporter highlighted, this move aims to bring some of the upside of box office success back to the people who help make the movies, even in a world where box office receipts are no longer the only measure of a film’s impact.
What’s at stake in all of this isn’t just the fate of one film or even one streaming service—it’s the future of how stories are told, shared, and experienced. The push and pull between spectacle and substance, between instant gratification and slow-burn storytelling, has never been more pronounced. As Damon and Affleck see it, the challenge is to adapt without losing what makes movies magical in the first place.
Affleck, for his part, remains optimistic. He sees the evolution of viewing habits, from the rise of television to the current dominance of streaming, as part of a long continuum. “Things shift,” he said. “People are still going to go to the movies because of what you said. It feels like a cool thing to do.” The communal experience of the theater, he argues, can’t be replicated at home—no matter how big the screen or how advanced the sound system.
Yet, as both actors acknowledge, the industry can’t ignore the realities of its new audience. With viewers increasingly multitasking, filmmakers are being asked to find new ways to keep people engaged without sacrificing depth and nuance. It’s a delicate balancing act, and one that will likely continue to shape the art and business of filmmaking for years to come.
For now, The Rip stands as both a product of its time and a quiet act of resistance—a film that embraces some of the demands of streaming while pushing back in others. As Damon and Affleck navigate these changes, they’re not just telling a story on screen; they’re helping to write the next chapter in the ongoing saga of Hollywood itself.
As the dust settles, one thing is certain: the conversation about how and why we watch movies is far from over. And with artists like Damon and Affleck leading the way, it promises to be a fascinating ride.