Despite recent suggestions from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Netflix executives said they are not asking filmmakers to repeat movie or TV plots in their shows’ dialogue.
“There is no such principle,” Netflix head of film Dan Lin told reporters Wednesday as the streamer met with reporters to promote its upcoming plans.
Affleck and Damon commented on the “Joe Rogan Experience” to promote the new Netflix movie The Rip, suggesting that Netflix asked the creators to “repeat the plot three or four times in conversation” given that people are using cell phones. The news became a running joke at Sunday’s Oscar ceremony, with Sterling K. Brown and host Conan O’Brien jokingly hinting at how Casablanca would be remade under the edict.
“In fact, when we saw that part at the Oscars ceremony, we all laughed out loud, but there’s no such principle,” Lin said at a Netflix press conference. “I mean, if you watch our movies and TV shows, we don’t repeat plots. So I don’t know where that comment came from. Certainly, we’re focused on making great movies.”
Contrary to the idea that Netflix is asking creators to add explainers to their projects, Head of Scripted Series Ginny Howe said that Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria is “like the exposition police, trying to figure things out.” “We’re very against overexplaining things…We know how savvy our audience is. We know how much our fans care, and we really value them as much as they are sophisticated and smart,” he joked.
Bajaria added: “I think it’s very uncomfortable for creators and filmmakers to think that if we give them such a bad warning in the first place, they’ll just accept it.”
Asked if Netflix was still considering other movie slots now that the deal with Warner Bros. was over, Lin said, “Please give us time” to clarify whether anything has changed. “We are a streaming-first company,” he said. “This strategy has worked very well for us. You can see that our members are watching seven movies a month. But you can see how through the Warners process we’ve developed a close relationship with the theater owners. We’re looking at what special events we can do in our theaters, but please give us a little time to figure out what we’ll do.”
Bajaria clarified that many of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ promises regarding the 45-day theatrical window refer to Warner Bros. films, not Netflix films. Although the streamer continues to experiment with theatrical release for both TV and long-form content, its strategy remains the same.
“I don’t want you to confuse the two. When Ted talked about Warner Bros., Warner Bros. is in a different business than Netflix,” Bajaria said. “But we’ve obviously done certain things in theater.”
Other topics discussed include:
• On Netflix’s acquisition of Interpositive, a startup founded by Ben Affleck that develops AI-powered tools for filmmakers: “What I think is really cool and interesting about Interpositive is that Ben, as an actor and a filmmaker, has the ability to say, ‘I want to make this movie more effective. How can I be more efficient, or can I do certain things that I can’t do otherwise?” He made this film over many years of experimenting on his own…We’ve always said that we want to make sure that filmmakers have the best tools if they want them. Some people don’t want them. they don’t have to use them. But I think that’s the most exciting thing about having a really practical tool created by filmmakers. ”
• On Netflix’s experiential events, such as “KPop Demon Hunter” coming to Netflix House: “It’s really about building fandom,” Lin said. “We’ve done it with movies and series, and now we’re doing it with live experiences. There’s a new one coming, ‘KPop Demon Hunters.'” It would be great to experience ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ at the Netflix house in Philadelphia. ”
• On staying ahead of the competition now that the combined Warner Bros.-Paramount company may be looking for talent: “If you look at Greta Gerwig, David Fincher, Guillermo del Toro, we’re really happy with the group of filmmakers we’re working with right now,” Lin said. “We can’t work with everyone, but we’re really happy with the talent that we’re working with…I think we’re going to be even better because there’s competition. It just makes us hungrier and sharper. So we’re not afraid of competition.”
Bajaria added. “We’ve always had competition. This hasn’t changed at all. There’s competition all over the world…The important thing for us has always been to understand what competition is, not to get in your head at all, but to understand what the market is and be really acutely aware of what’s going on…We have to do this every day, all day long, keeping our eyes on the prize.”
• On the short gap between seasons: “I hope things get back to normal sooner for the spectators,” Bajaria said. “It also depends on the creators who write and execute everything.”
• On the live series and whether “Star Search” will return for a second season: “We’re trying to figure it out,” Bajaria said. “It was a competition for talent. With that format and the way it launched, we’ve never done anything like that. I think we’re just trying to figure out the right format for it. We really liked it and thought there was a lot of good in it. We’re always like, ‘Let’s try something.'” Sometimes you have to have patience and build something like that. Still under evaluation. ”
• On whether there will be more talk shows on Netflix: “It’s not like, ‘Oh, we have to do The Talk.’ (John) Mulaney had a really great fresh take, and it was just an opportunity, someone we’ve worked with a lot, and we tried it on Netflix Is A Joke. There’s no ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Just because it didn’t really work doesn’t mean I’ll never do it. ”
• On whether they would be interested in bringing Stephen Colbert on board after his stint at CBS: “I mean, he hasn’t come on set and had any conversations yet,” Bajaria said.
