Actor Matt Damon explained some stipulations Netflix has for movies, taking into account what they describe as short attention spans from viewers.

The 55-year-old Academy Award-winner made the revelation during a recent appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast while promoting his new Netflix project, “The Rip.”

Damon said traditional movie setups have changed due to audiences being accustomed to short-form content, also because they’re only half paying attention as they check their phones.

“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,” Damon said.

“You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale,” he added. “And now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay. 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’s longtime collaborator Ben Affleck chimed in, pointing out that the Netflix hit “Adolescence” did not follow the formula and was still a success. “It didn’t do any of that sh*t,” Affleck said. “And it’s f*cking great.”

The interview comes on the heels of Netflix announcing they are acquiring Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO, in a massive deal valued at $82.7 billion.

This move has led to criticism from the public, especially as rumors persisted that Netflix planned to reduce how long streaming customers had to wait to watch new theatrical releases. Multiple outlets reported that the window would be shortened from six weeks to seventeen days.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos attempted to put those rumors to rest during a recent interview with The New York Times.

“We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows,” he told the outlet. “I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.”

The Trump administration’s top auto policy officials on Saturday touted federal efforts to lower car prices by eliminating vehicle emissions regulations, as affordability remains a key concern among Americans.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer toured the annual Detroit Auto Show to wrap up a two-day Midwestern swing that included stops at a Ford truck factory and Stellantis Jeep plant in Ohio on Friday.

The administration has aggressively rolled back electric vehicle rules from former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Duffy said the rules “will bring car prices down and allow car companies to offer products that Americans want to buy.”

He added, “this is not a war on EVs at all … We shouldn’t use government policy to encourage EV purchases all the while penalizing combustion engines.”

President Donald Trump is grappling with economic headwinds a year after taking office and ahead of November’s midterm ⁠elections, having campaigned on quickly fixing higher prices for American consumers.

Average new car transaction prices hit a record $50,326 in December as Americans bought more pricey trucks and SUVs, research firm Cox Automotive said, while automakers are offering fewer entry-level vehicles.

Trump signed legislation last year eliminating a $7,500 EV tax credit, rescinding California’s EV rules and cancelling penalties for automakers not meeting fuel efficiency requirements.

Zeldin said the government “should not be forcing, requiring, mandating that the market go in a direction other than what the American consumer is demanding.”

Automakers also face steep tariffs imposed by Trump on imported vehicles and parts. Despite the EV policy changes and new tariffs, new U.S. vehicle sales rose 2.4% in 2025 to 16.2 million vehicles.

Democrats say auto tariffs and efforts to eliminate EV incentives will harm consumers. But Greer said car prices are trending down and “whatever effects those tariffs may have on various parts of the supply chain, they’re not really getting down to the consumer.”

Kathy Harris, director of clean vehicles at environmental activist group NRDC, criticized the administration’s auto policies. “The oil industry will rake in billions more from cash-strapped Americans who can’t afford to spend more to fuel up their car or truck.”

In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed rolling back Biden-era fuel efficiency standards that had prodded auto companies to build more EVs to comply. The EPA is also expected to finalize a rule in the coming weeks eliminating vehicle tailpipe emissions requirements.

USDOT estimates its proposal would reduce average up-front vehicle costs by $930, but increase fuel consumption by as much as 100 billion gallons through 2050, and cost Americans up to another $185 billion for fuel.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in DetroitEditing by Rod Nickel)