Following Netflix’s announcement that the streamer is testing faster playback speeds — allowing consumers to watch films at a higher rate than intended — various industry members including Judd Apatow, Aaron Paul, and Brad Bird have come forward to share their feelings on the possible update.
Apatow was particularly displeased with the new feature. “No. That’s not how it works. Distributors don’t get to change the way the content is presented,” he said in a tweet. “Doing so is a breaking of trust and won’t be tolerated by the people who provide it. Let the people who don’t care put it in their contracts that they don’t care. Most all do.”
No. That’s not how it works. Distributors don’t get to change the way the content is presented. Doing so is a breaking of trust and won’t be tolerated by the people who provide it. Let the people who don’t care put it in their contracts that they don’t care. Most all do. https://t.co/ZPQPpgTXOc
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) October 28, 2019
Apatow was joined in his sentiments by “Bring It On” director Peyton Reed, who vowed to fight against the feature alongside other directors in his network.
Dear @Netflix,
This is a terrible idea, and I and every director I know will fight against it.
Sincerely,
Peyton Reed https://t.co/iPq10ywKfz
— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) October 28, 2019
Bird took to Twitter to express his distaste, saying, “Whelp— another spectacularly bad idea, and another cut to the already bleeding-out cinema experience,” Bird said. “Why support & finance filmmakers visions on one hand and then work to destroy the presentation of those films on the other???”
Paul, whose “Breaking Bad” character was mentioned in an Uproxx article about the test, dropped his two cents on the idea. “Stop. As the person talked about in this article I felt the need to speak out. There is NO WAY Netflix will move forward with this. 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?”
Netflix says the small-scale test of the feature — as with any of its trials — might not become widely available to customers.
“We’re always looking for new ways to help our fans enjoy content they love, so we’re testing playback speed options on mobile devices,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety. “Our tests generally vary in how long they run for and in which countries they run in, and they may or may not become permanent features on our service.”
