I’m kinda, sorta, totally obsessed with Stranger Things. I have a little time on my hand between projects, but a lot of time on my hands until season two, I decided to put together a list of Stranger Things facts that you guys should know. Trust me, there was a lot more than I put here and I condensed this down so you guys could get nice and comfy to read it. You’re welcome.
- The Duffer Brothers pulled inspiration out of many classic movie and creator sources to put their vision together. Some of the great creators were Steven Spielberg, Stephen King and John Carpenter.
- There were 906 boys and 307 girls auditioning for the roles of the kids. They read scenes from Stand By Me for their audition.
- The first scene they shot with the kids was the Dungeons and Dragons and they were all so nervous about it. The chemistry between them was undeniable though and they found their leading cuties.
- Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven)’s mum was very nervous about shaving her head. But her and her dad was okay with it. However, when it came time to actually do the deed and to shave her head. She was a bit anxious. The Duffer Brothers gave her the example of Mad Max’s Charlize Theron to give her inspiration and she was sold.
- Millie Bobby Brown was instructed to resemble E.T for her role Eleven. You know that scene where she dresses up? Doesn’t that reminds you a bit of E.T?
- In order to achieve the vintage look needed, they used a digital cinema camera and used film grain and colouring to make it get the vintage look desired for the 1980s.
- Richard Greenberg was the main inspiration for the main titles for Stranger Things. He was the creators of The Goonies, Alien and The Dead Zone.
- Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner) actually starred together in Roy Orbinson’s music video “A Love So Beautiful”. She played a trapeze artist and she played a clown. Watch it! It’s super cool!
- Montauk was the original title for Stranger Things. It was originally going to be set in Montauk, New York (on Long Island), but it was eventually moved to Indiana and we’re so happy it’s not called Hawkins.
- Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) has cleidocranial dysplasia, a condition that affects your bones and teeth.
- Shannon Purser quit her job after playing Barbara Holland on the show. People were so in love with her character that it started to become a problem where she worked. However, she’s not getting more acting gigs. The only reason you should check out Riverdale is because she’s gonna be in it.
- Hopper’s trailer only cause $1 to buy. To be fair, that’s a lot of a steal because it’s a lovely trailer.
- Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) was supposed to be a bit more of a douchebag without any real plot. As they grew to love Joe, he was eventually given more of an arc for his character and had a reunion with Nancy in the end. (I personally ship Jonathan and Barb, but you know… I am down for anything with these three.) (*COUGH*STEVEANDJONATHANFORSEASON2*COUGH*)
- Each episode is laced with an amazing reference to other 80’s movies. Jaws, E.T, Gremlins, Stand By Me, The Goonies and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were some of the influences in the show.
- Caleb McLaughlin was the one to suggest that Lucas wear a cameo bandana for some of his scenes.
- Winona Ryder’s hair for Joyce Byers was influenced by Meryl Streep’s hair in Silkwood.
- She took a lot of the inspiration for Joyce, a woman who everyone thinks is mad, but instead is telling the truth, from the movies, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Aubrey Rose and Max Dugan Returns.
- Millie Bobby Brown HATES Eggos! She expressed this dislike in her instagram video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BH9-WBBj_-a/ - The kids were growing up so much on the set that the production was worried. It escalated a bit more when Gaten Matarazzo’s voice actually dropped. They had to use additional dialogue for him that they recorded in post-production.
- The Netflix poster where all the character’s make their debut was a combination of a lot of movie posters from the 80s. You can even see the influence as well. Some of the titles include: E.T, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Back to the Future.
- The kids formed a super close bond before and during filming of the show. Each of the kids came from a different place (Gatan, Noah and Caleb live in New York, Finn lives in Canada and Eleven lives in the UK), however, when they all came together in Atlanta they were best friends. They started a text group and texted each other a lot. God… I just… *clinches fist* f*cking love these kids.
- There was a real life inspiration for the experiments that Eleven had to endure. Camp Hero was supposed to be a secret laboratory that experimented on children, stolen from their families, in order to unleash their telekinetic and psychokinetic abilities.
- The Upside Down is very bad for human health. Humans were never meant to live there. This explains why it doesn’t affect Nancy so much, but… since Will has been there for so long, this is one of the things that will be addressed in the second season of Stranger Things.
- The Duffer Brothers actually have an entire document on the Upside Down. 30 pages worth. It goes from the nature of the monster (Demogorgon) and the world itself. (PLEASE RELEASE THIS)
- Not really a fact ABOUT the show, but there are some AMAZING artists out there who have Stranger Things fan art. Check them out in this RP’s post!
