Ben Affleck calls Netflix an “assembly line”

Last Updated on December 6, 2022

Not long after announcing he and Matt Damon would be launching their own production company, Ben Affleck has slighted streaming giant Netflix for being an “assembly line” of content.

In a recent Q&A session, Ben Affleck suggested that Netflix can’t possibly be focusing on admirable work, as the stream of content puts a focus on quantity and not quality. “If you ask Reed Hastings…I’m sure there’s some risk in that, and I’m sure they had a great strategy, but I would have said, ‘How are we going to make 50 great movies?! How is that possible? It’s a thing that requires attention and dedication and work and resists the assembly line process.”

Affleck added to this, indicating that it would take far more manpower than any studio could allow themselves in order to properly give their content the quality control it needs. “There’s no committee big enough. There aren’t enough–you just can’t do it. It’s a thing that requires attention and dedication and work and resists the assembly line process.”

To give an idea of just how much content Netflix produces, 2022 so far has seen the release of over 150 narrative features and 50 documentaries. Those are astronomical numbers compared to the major studios and even some of Netflix’s streaming competitors. Amazon Prime had under 30 original movies out this year, while Hulu, which hasn’t matched Netflix’s output in the last five years combined.

Last month, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon announced they would be serving as chief executive and chief creative officer, respectively, for Artists Equity, a production company designed to let artists “take ownership of their creative power, providing a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers to streamline the development of their content.”

What do you think? Does Ben Affleck have a point when he calls Netflix an “assembly line”?