Ben Affleck says it's an 'impossible job' to make great movies with Netflix's 'assembly-line process'

• Affleck said it’s impossible to make a large number of great movies with Netflix’s “assembly-line process.”
• “I would have said, ‘How are we going to make 50 great movies? How is that possible?'” Affleck said.

Ben Affleck offered some thoughtful criticism of Netflix’s content machine on Wednesday.

During the DealBook Summit, the actor and CEO of new production studio Artists Equity spoke about quantity versus quality. He noted that it’s “impossible” to make a lot of great content under an “assembly-line process” like Netflix’s, which pumps out hundreds of movies and TV shows a year.

“If you ask [Netflix co-CEO] 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?'” Affleck said.

“There’s no committee big enough. … You just can’t do it,” he continued. “It’s a thing that requires attention and dedication and work and resists the assembly-line process. [Netflix’s film chief] Scott Stuber is a really talented, smart guy who I really like… but it’s an impossible job.”

Affleck has starred in a Netflix movie, “Triple Frontier.” It received a lukewarm reception, with a 70% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 55% audience score.

Netflix spent $17 billion on content in both 2022 and 2021, and plans to spend at least that next year, according to its earnings statements.

“What we’re seeing is that both the scope and scale, as well as the range and the cadence of hits, is improving, so I feel better and better about that $17 billion of content spend because what we have to do is be better at getting more impact per billion dollar spend than anybody else,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during the company’s most recent earnings call.

The company’s content spend has included hundreds of millions of dollars on action movies that it hopes to turn into franchises, such as “Red Notice” and “The Gray Man.” While those films are the company’s No. 1 and No. 4 most-watched movies ever, they were torn apart by critics, with 36% and 46% Rotten Tomatoes critic scores, respectively.

To Affleck’s point, there is some divide between Netflix’s “best” movies and its most popular, at least based on critics reception and awards.

Six of Netflix’s top 10 biggest movies have “rotten” critics scores (below 60%). An additional three of them are on the cusp, with scores in the 60s. Only “The Irishman” was fully embraced by critics.

Seven Netflix movies have been nominated for the best-picture Oscar, but just two of those are among the company’s top 10 most-watched movies (“The Irishman” and “Don’t Look Up,” the latter of which has a “rotten” score).

Affleck, for his part, is taking on the film industry with his his new venture.

Affleck said that Artists Equity intends to make movies of quality with commercial appeal.

“I see no difference between commercial and quality,” he said at the DealBook Summit.

Affleck and fellow actor Matt Damon announced the studio last month, and its first movie, about the rise of Air Jordan, will be directed by Affleck and star Damon.