UPDATE: A spokesperson from Netflix reached out to Collider with the following statement: "We’re always experimenting with new ways to help members use Netflix. This test makes it possible to vary the speed at which people watch shows on their mobiles. As with any test, it may not become a permanent feature on Netflix." The original story is below.

Netflix’s decision to begin testing a variable playback speed feature allowing viewers to watch TV shows and movies at slower or faster speeds has drawn some unexpected criticism from filmmakers like Judd Apatow, Jay Chandrasekhar, and Brad Bird. The streaming giant officially announced the test on Monday after rolling it out to users of its Android app last week.

Apatow shot back at the announcement with a series of angry tweets opposing the very idea of implementing such a feature.

"No @Netflix no,” one tweet reads. “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 fuck with our timing. We give you nice things. Leave them as they were intended to be seen."

Apatow continues his criticisms in a follow-up tweet, saying “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.”

Super Troopers director Chandrasekhar chimed in with his concise response, tweeting “Don’t do this, Netflix.” And veteran Disney filmmaker Brad Bird quote-tweeted a news item announcing the test and added his own commentary, saying “Whelp— another spectacularly bad idea, and another cut to the already bleeding-out cinema experience. Why support & finance filmmakers visions on one hand and then work to destroy the presentation of those films on the other???”

Apatow, a long-time producer and director of comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, produced the comedy series Love for Netflix, which aired its third and final season last year. Plus, several of Apatow’s films are in regular rotation on the streaming platform, so he’s admittedly got some skin in the game. But the blowback from Apatow and his movie-making peers might be premature - the ability to watch films at a slower or faster speed isn’t likely to see much use from a general viewing audience, and Netflix is constantly testing new features, many of which never get implemented. We’ll have to wait and see if the Netflix powers-that-be decide to roll out variable playback speeds across all their platforms.