Netflix screenwriters told N+1 Magazine (via World of Reel) that the streaming execs have a specific demand when it comes to content creation, which makes life easier for those viewers who watch movies and series “with one eye” — meaning in the background while doing other stuff.
This requirement is that characters must “announce everything they are doing,” so a viewer, who might be scrolling through social media at that moment, doesn’t miss important plot twists. Here, for example, is one of the dialogues from the movie “Irish Desire” starring Lindsay Lohan:
“We spent the day together,” says Lohan to her lover and photographer James. “I admit it was a wonderful day filled with dramatic landscapes, but that doesn’t give you the right to doubt my life choices. Tomorrow I’m marrying Paul Kennedy.” “Fine,” he replies. “This is the last time you see me. After finishing this job, I’m off to Bolivia to photograph an endangered tree lizard.”
Basically, in one dialogue they recapped hours of the characters’ adventures, and it seems like you could have just turned on the movie at this point, easily skipping the intro. Netflix also, with this move, disrupts the longstanding video content rule of “show, don’t tell” (at least, it was a leading principle in both cinema and TV for a long time).
Actually, this isn’t the first odd demand from the streaming service. A year ago, for instance, it became known that Netflix asked writers and directors to “make sure” that the first five minutes of the movie had enough drama to keep viewers watching and not wanting to turn it off.
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