LOS ANGELES — Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer have revealed that they used CGI in the upcoming season to make the actors appear happy to still be making the long-running show.
“CGI technology really saved us,” said The Duffer Brothers, speaking in unison. “During the production of season five, we were looking at the actors now and comparing them to when the show started during the Obama presidency, and we realised we were definitely going to need some tweaks if we wanted people to believe these actors didn’t want to kill themselves. Every day they would finish shooting, and we’d hear them crying about how tired they were and how much they believed themselves to be cursed. Galen Matarazzo kept asking us if we were trickster gods sent to punish him, and we just laughed and stared at him until he walked away.”
Scanline, the VFX house which creates the show’s scenes in the Upside Down and creatures like the Mind Flayer, revealed their staff were working crunch hours to complete the CG fixes needed for the fifth season.
“It’s been hard,” said head of VFX, Luka Alamein, in between shotgunned cans of Monster energy. “Designing monsters and action sequences is fun and imaginative. But what kind of sick fuck could imagine these human beings still being happy to be making this show? When we heard each episode of season five was going to be 90 minutes long, we had to lock off access to the roof for fear of jumpers. We’ve had a mass exodus of staff to MCU movies where they know they’ll get regular beatings from their Disney bosses, but at least they get to keep their souls.”
Netflix boss John Johnson knows that the process has been challenging but worth it.
“Everyone here at Netflix is dedicated to making the best TV around,” said Johnson after deciding to cancel three more beloved Netflix shows to fund the VFX. “Yes, when the cast started making this show, they were children and full of life, and yes, we harvested the light behind their eyes for profit. But that doesn’t mean the IP doesn’t remain strong. Who knows? If season five does well, maybe we’ll keep it going. Maybe we’ll milk this cash cow until it’s nothing but bones. I just love television so much!”
Winona Ryder could not be reached for comment as she’s hesitant to take some time away from the portrait that keeps her looking young.
