Ben Affleck walks back friend Matt Damon’s claim that Netflix wants plot regurgitation in movies

Shelby StivaleThu, October 1, 2026 at 2:46 PM UTC

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Ben Affleck; Matt DamonCredit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty; Roy Rochlin/GettyKey Points -

Ben Affleck clarified comments made by Matt Damon earlier this year about working with Netflix.

Affleck said that they actually wanted to “debunk” the notion that the streamer was pressuring filmmakers to regurgitate the plot in their movies.

“I don’t know that I’ve never met anyone who’s had a note that idiotic and brazen,” Affleck said.

Ben Affleck is clarifying past comments made by BFF Matt Damon.

In January, during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experienceto promote their movie The Rip, Damon stated that Netflix is changing the way movies are made by sharing plot details multiple times for those who may be distracted by their phones while streaming at home.

Affleck attended Bloomberg’s 2026 Screentime event on Wednesday to promote his upcoming Netflix film, Animals, and looked back at that viral moment. The actor said he and Damon were having a discussion about “perception,” not reality.

“We went on there to debunk this notion and explain to people why, in fact, our experience was utterly contrary to that,” he explained. Netflix “would never do that” Affleck added.

“Somebody went ahead and did a pull quote, and it got picked up once, and it was, ‘Matt Damon says Netflix makes you tell the plot in the first five minutes,’” Affleck said. “If you just stop and think about it — I’m in this movie, I’m directing. Even if that were true, do you think I would go on Joe Rogan and be like, ‘They made me put all this obvious s--- [in my movie]?’ Like, it doesn’t even make sense.”

Affleck claimed that he and Damon had spoken to a journalist to clarify their comments. The story never ran, and this keeps coming up.

“I don’t know that I’ve never met anyone who’s had a note that idiotic and brazen — and I’ve heard of a lot of idiotic studio notes,” the Oscar winner added. “Idiotic studio notes long predate Netflix. This is a business with a long history of executives telling you to do the exact wrong thing that’s going to ruin your movie.”

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What Damon remarked on during the January podcast appearance was the difference between how a “standard” action movie is made and one that Netflix is making — or that perception, at least.

“You usually have three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third — and the big one with all the explosions and you spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your kind of finale,” the Odyssey star said at the time. “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 speculated that “it’s going to really start to infringe on how we’re telling these stories.”

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in AprilCredit: Christopher VICTORIO / AFP via Getty

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Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Damon explained that he went to see One Battle After Another in theaters and it was a different experience than anything he’s watched at home.

“You’re watching in a room, the lights are on, other shit’s going on, the kids are running around, the dogs are running around, whatever it is,” he said. “It’s just a very different level of attention that you’re willing, or that you’re able, to give to it.”

Watch Affleck’s full Bloomberg appearance above.

on Entertainment Weekly

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