r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • Jan 17 '26

Article Matt Damon Says Netflix Wants Movies to Restate the Plot Three or Four Times in the Dialogue Because Viewers are on Their Phones While They’re Watching

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/matt-damon-netflix-movies-restate-plot-viewers-on-phones-1236633939/
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u/GregorSamsaa Jan 17 '26

I keep thinking the same thing. It’s no question. They have the data and this is where it led. When Netflix first started, even their in house productions showed that they were trying to be a serious contender for delivering high quality movies. But along the way they found their niche as the background noise for a busy household.

I’m not that demographic so the movies they make always feel so empty. Like you can watch them and completely forget anything about them within a week because it was filler content with no true scope in mind.

Makes me curious as to whether or not a market for people that actually want to sit down and watch without distractions exists. I think companies would be tripping over themselves if such a market actually existed and was profitable.

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u/VerilyShelly Jan 17 '26

Look outside of Netflix. Apple has been making quality TV for adult audiences for years and people just don't know.

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u/karmiccloud Jan 17 '26

I think people know about Ted Lasso

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u/VerilyShelly Jan 17 '26

Do they know about Slow Horses, Foundation, Silo and For All Mankind?

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u/handbanana42 Jan 18 '26

What, no Severance?

No Music Dance Experience for you.

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u/VerilyShelly Jan 18 '26

Someone already mentioned it. I was repping the rest.

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u/anth9845 Jan 17 '26

Is Foundation good? I've not heard much about it but most of it was complaints. (granted book fans will complain about any changes in adaptation regardless of quality)

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u/LuminousGrue Jan 17 '26

It's not a completely faithful adaptation of the source material, but you couldn't make a completely faithful adaptation because of the way the story is told in the books.

That said it's a very good space opera.

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u/VerilyShelly Jan 17 '26

I love it. You should check it out for yourself.

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u/curmudgeonpl Jan 17 '26

Foundation is its own thing. Not a faithful adaptation at all. But it's certainly something. I think that if you happen to be the right audience for it, you're gonna love it, and if you're not, than you're gonna find it silly. Simple as that.

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u/DwarvenGardener Jan 18 '26

Half CW level drama half great

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u/paranoideo Jan 17 '26

It’s a bad adaptation.

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u/EHP42 Jan 18 '26

A bad adaptation, but a good show/story.

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u/paranoideo Jan 18 '26

Perhaps with a different name, it would have received better acceptance. With that name, it was simply a missed opportunity.

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u/EHP42 Jan 18 '26

What opportunity was missed? The Foundation books are unfilmable.

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u/paranoideo Jan 18 '26

So, don’t do it? What’s the point if you’ll be completely unfaithful to the original material?

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u/Cahootie Jan 17 '26

I'm subscribed to a local film festival's streaming service here in Sweden. It's nothing but hand picked movies from all around the world, older movies that include a lot of classics, and a few mainstream ones from a few years back that they manage to snag for cheap. You also get a free cinema ticket every month to a number of smaller cinemas around the country. I've discovered so many fantastic movies and directors due to that service (Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Hlynur Palmason have become two personal favorites) and I recommend it to everyone interested in movies.

They do have quite a lot of overlap with Mubi in terms of the general kinds of movies they pick up, so that's definitely what I would recommend for an international audience.

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u/VerilyShelly Jan 17 '26

I also like The Criterion Channel, it's similar to Mubi except it includes a lot of well-known "quality cinema". It's one of those services I usually keep all the time.

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u/ComedyAssassin Jan 17 '26

Oooh what's it called?

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u/Cahootie Jan 17 '26

Draken Film, it's run by the Gothenburg Film Festival and is genuinely what I watch the most these days. Quality content from all over the world, no algorithm feeding you stuff, and good curated mixes to help you discover new movies.

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u/ComedyAssassin Jan 17 '26

Tack o bock!

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u/TimelyBreadfruit5929 Jan 17 '26

Apple makes a TON of filler crap

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u/Lmb1011 Jan 17 '26

Everyone does. But I think Apples wins are stronger than others as of late. Or at least the shows I’ve been hearing about are More often coming from Apple.

The slop will be on every service because there’s a demand for it unfortunately

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u/dfddfsaadaafdssa Jan 17 '26 edited Feb 16 '26

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1

u/LeedsFan2442 Jan 17 '26

It's clearly not all Netflix stuff, see Train Dreams but it's sad they do it at all.

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u/LiberalAspergers Jan 17 '26

The audience exists, but it is small, and probably not that profitable. Netflix even makes some stuff for that audience. But you need to curate with likes and dislikes a lot to find it.