The rise of streaming platforms over the past decade has become one of the global phenomena that changed the way people live, and Batman star Ben Affleck has got some thoughts about the procedures these giant companies operate.
While streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Prime Video, and HBO, have brought convenience and access to thousands of films and shows at the tip of our fingers, there will always be setbacks and some repercussions that audiences never witness.
Ben Affleck On His Production Company And Streaming Media
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Justice League actor Ben Affleck discussed his new production company co-founded with Matt Damon, Artists Equity, which aims to give equal treatment in terms of profit-sharing not only among actors and directors but crew members as well.
Affleck revealed that he started building this business with Damon more than 40 years ago, and the way they operate the company combines traditional method with modern technology. Affleck said:
“There’s no formula for something being good. At Artists Equity, we have a joint venture with a data research AI-modeling company that has a lot of consumer information. We can reach out to people and go, ‘What are you watching? Do you like this?’”
The actor also pointed out the frustration over streaming media where one has to wonder if people are watching a certain show or not. He also revealed that streamers do not give him data on his movies.
Affleck shared that the company is grounded on the tenet where they “seek to retain the negative.” The aim is to become the copyright holder that they could share with the artists. He believes that streamers nowadays have “taken away” some of its value:
“The streamers have overreached and recaptured too much value. The old gross days, you could really make money. They’ve taken away some of that value.”
His newest directorial project, Air, will be released in theaters, as opposed to how Affleck envisioned the movie to play on the small screen.
“I assumed it would be a streaming movie because I thought maybe dramas would never come out again in theaters… And then I got all these emails and calls, and people saw it. That was the day I thought, ‘Well, shit, I’d rather people see the movie. I like a theater as much as the next guy.’”
With the advent of streaming media as well as the comeback of the theater business, fans are given the option to choose how they want to enjoy movies. For Affleck, and many other actors and filmmakers, going to theaters is a whole different kind of experience.
Ben Affleck Comments On Netflix’s Onslaught Of Content
Ben Affleck’s production company, Artists Equity, does not aim to compete with giant streaming platforms; rather, the CEO and founder hopes it would stand on the opposite end of Netflix’s operation. In his interview with Variety, he likened the platform, which produces tons of content every month, to an “assembly line”:
“I’m sure there’s wisdom 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? [Making movies] is a thing that requires attention and dedication and work and it resists the sort of assembly line process.”
The actor also claims certain genres attract more audiences than others, and as filmmakers, they cannot ignore that. He proposes artists should create good ones that would surprise fans and make them care about the work.
