“Another spectacularly bad idea”: Directors flame Netflix over “speed binge” feature

rambo

6 years ago

ABC Audio(LOS ANGELES) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) Filmmakers are seething over streaming giant Netflix’s new “speed binging” feature. Apparently in the testing phase, the feature lets viewers power through movies and TV shows at faster speeds — essentially watching them in fast-forward — while retaining the content’s audio track.

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, currently starring in the Netflix movie El Camino, is one of those who isn’t having it. “Stop … There is NO WAY @netflix will move forward with this,” he tweeted. “That would mean they are completely taking control of everyone else’s art and destroying it. Netflix is far better than that. Am I right Netflix?”

Ant-Man series director Peyton Reed posted, “This is a terrible idea, and I and every director I know will fight against it.”

Judd Apatow, Knocked Up director and co-creator of the Netflix series Love, tweeted, “Don’t make me have to call every director and show creator on Earth to fight you on this. Save me the time. I will win but it will take a ton of time. Don’t f**** with our timing. We give you nice things. Leave them as they were intended to be seen.”

Oscar-winning Ratatouille filmmaker Brad Bird, who also directed The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, called the feature “another spectacularly bad idea, and another cut to the already bleeding-out cinema experience”

Incidentally, speeding up movies and TV shows is occasionally done on TV — AMC and FX are common offenders — with the intention of cramming in as many commercials as possible.

For its part, Netflix said in a statement that the feature may not become permanent.