So this California girl, Max, moves into Hawkins,
and not only becomes the center of a love triangle
between Lucas and Dustin,
but she joins an epic fight
against the supernatural and her stepbrother.
All that and more, right now on Beyond Stranger Things.
All right, guys, I only made one, all right?
- Yeah, but don't... Let's not be animals. - Ooh!
All right, spoilers ahead. You have been warned.
- Ooh. - Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Mmm. - Has anyone used these forks?
- Uh, don't worry about that. - All right, then.
All right, joining me at the table to continue our ongoing discussion
of Stranger Things 2... Sadie Sink is with us,
Lucas, Caleb McLaughlin, is here,
and Gaten Matarazzo, who plays our wonderful Dustin.
We have executive producer and a director of many episodes, Shawn Levy,
and of course, the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers.
Matt and Ross. Thank you for being with us as we continue this discussion.
One thing I like about this... Oh, yeah. We can all clap.
We all made it. Good. Very good.
What I do like here is... I'll definitely get to this...
What we have, which is an interesting love triangle
that develops over season two.
First, I just wanna sort of talk overall... I'm curious about, in the sequel,
of something set in the '80s... '80s technology.
Because I feel like, as a storytelling device,
it's interesting to write in this time
of where information is a little more difficult to get
from person to person, get information...
- Much better. - As a writer?
- So much easier. - Really? What way?
- The existence of the cell phone... - You don't have to do that cliché...
The horror movie thing, like, "I can't get signal!"
- No signal. - You can always write...
Well, that's... That helps.
The beauty of the walkie-talkies is...
We just break the rules all the time.
They can either not work... I can't hear anyone...
or they work perfectly if you need them to.
So, it's just... it's beautiful.
What's he saying?
I don't know. He's way out of range.
Is there even a way to tell this type of story
- in a 2017 environment with smart... - We've talked about that.
Oh, really?
If the internet and cell phones existed in this story,
we'd have to completely reconceive it,
because the availability of contact and information
would kind of kill all the mystery and all the struggle.
And I don't know what it's like to be a kid now,
but I do... I remember when... I know parents now can track their children,
like, where they are at all times. Where I remember
when we went out with our friends, it was just, like, freedom.
- Yes. - And my mom doesn't know where I am,
and I... we were walking train tracks, and just getting in all sorts of trouble,
you have no idea what you're doing, it felt like you were on this adventure.
That's why the Wheelers are out of it,
but that's kind of what it was like.
I mean, they're just, like... they're off doing something.
Yeah. You know, one of the big part of technology in the '80s...
Obviously, you guys spend a lot of time at the arcade,
which is upright video games,
and Dragon's Lair and Dig Dug play a very pivotal role.
Was that decision made early,
- thematically, any of that? - We knew we wanted an arcade,
and then it became a question about... What?
- You always deny this. Me and Finn... - Oh, this was your idea?
No, it wasn't my idea. I'm just saying Finn had said
that we were talking about... "That would be cool
if it opened up in an arcade," and we told you guys,
- and you deny it. - You stole it.
- You still deny it. - Wait, wait, wait.
Wait. Let's clarify this. This is the first I'm hearing about...
That's fine. It was your idea.
No! I'm not saying it was my idea.
- I'm just saying... - That's exactly what you're saying.
I don't recall this at all.
I'm glad you're working this out at the table.
Thank God you and Finn found a way to open season two.
- Thank you. - Yes.
- We just said it would be so cool. - And it is cool, isn't it?
- What a good idea. - It was really fun.
I mean, our production designer... They took over...
It was the most disgusting building.
The existing space, is what you're saying?
It was nasty, and they turned it into this beautiful arcade,
and most of the games worked,
- which was great. - Oh.
It was free. They were free.
- Yeah. Pac-Man. - So, it was really fun.
And then we chose Dragon's Lair. We played that when we were kids.
And I remember it, because it's a frustrating game.
Let's be honest.
Dragon's Lair sucks quarters out of your pocket
- very fast. - Yeah.
- What an impossible... - Game.
That's why we had you rail against it.
No! I hate this over-priced bullshit. Son of a bitch.
Piece of shit!
- Nice game. - Yeah.
Then you kick it,
and that's how everyone feels when they play Dragon's Lair.
And I hadn't played it in a while, and I recently found it at this arcade,
and I played it again. And no one's playing it, by the way.
'Cause it was, like, very crowded,
every arcade machine was taken except for Dragon's Lair,
because it's still 50 cents today. Even now, you know, in 2017.
But the animation is beautiful,
and it was really ahead of its time in a lot of ways.
It was. Dig Dug, as far as thematics?
Dig Dug is not a game that we played growing up,
but one of our writers, Paul Dichter, he came up with this idea
that thematically, it tied into the season
with the tunnels underground, and the monsters underground.
There's a lot of digging going on. A lot of tunnels, monsters.
- Dig Dug gets attacked... - Just figuring this out?
The light bulb!
This is why we're doing this show.
This is why we do it. We all get on the same page.
Sort of like how, season one,
we used the opening Dungeons & Dragons game to set up the season.
We did that, and then also we wanted to use Dragon's Lair
to set up a little bit of the love story, or the love triangle...
- Really? - They were talking about...
They were fighting over who was going to get Princess Daphne.
So we sort of wanted to use both themes.
- I didn't know that, either. - I just got that.
I didn't get that.
Okay, so this... Yeah.
You got Princess Daphne in the opening scene.
- We're trying to telegraph something. - I remember filming it,
and I was like...
Yeah.
- You got that. - I got the whole thing.
It's a little risqué, isn't it?
- Yeah, Princess Daphne. - We were talking about that
- while we were filming. - It stands to reason,
because this is... obviously it foreshadows the introduction of Mad Max
up on that screen.
I want to ask real quick...
Halloween. Who were you dressed as? Remind me.
- In the show? - Yeah.
Michael Myers.
Shit! You should have seen the look on your faces.
Did you know who that was?
- No. - Okay.
- I was just curious. - She was like, "Michael..."
- We told you to watch Halloween. - I don't like scary movies.
- Did you? - No.
- Did you? - I don't like horror.
Halloween is fantastic.
But Sadie looked really scary in that mask.
I scared myself when I was watching it.
I knew that I was coming, but still I was like...
There's a shot that's not in it, because we wanted to use the jump scare.
Because we were waiting for her, where she's standing
behind the bushes in the dark. It's legitimately terrifying.
Halloween plays a big role,
and I want to talk specifically about Ghostbusters for just a moment,
and obviously a scene that was very fun to watch,
as far as showing up to school and no one else is in costumes.
I have two-tiered question here.
One, is that real? Did anyone experience that?
No. I would never wear a costume to school.
- It's a conspiracy. - Be cool.
The feeling of being out of step with people,
And what they're doing, that's...
- That I felt often. - I think high school in general,
- if you feel like that... - Yeah. Every day of high school.
- Yeah. - The idea of...
And it does feel like that. Like, is it a conspiracy?
It felt like it.
Like, is everyone in on something that I'm not in on?
That's sort of what it feels like. At least, to me it did.
That was a fun scene to film. Just us walking in through the hallway.
I love how they use it in the trailer, where they have you staring off.
It looks like you're looking at a monster in the sky,
and it's just people not wearing costumes.
Guys. Guys!
Why is no one else wearing costumes?
I love that.
Everyone's like, "What are they looking at?
- What's he looking at? - Yeah.
- Yeah, I know. - Everyone's like, "Where's Will?
He's not there." He's behind me.
- Now, the two Venkmans. - What?
Why are you Venkman?
- Because I'm Venkman. - No, I'm Venkman.
Why can't there be two Venkmans?
There's only one Venkman in real life. We planned this months ago.
Was that a... interior debate?
I think it was... We decided early on
that we wanted all the kids to be Ghostbusters,
'cause it came out that summer. It's such a seminal movie for us.
That's right. Yes.
And we believe it's made for the kids on this show,
that they would love that movie for certain.
So, we decided early on. And they're the right number,
and so we started going, "Who's going to be who?"
And then it immediately led to the Venkman conversation.
Everybody was like... It was, like, yeah.
- No one's gonna wanna be... - Who was gonna be Venkman?
No one's gonna wanna be Winston. That was kind of the thing.
- You're Winston. - I specifically didn't agree to Winston.
- Yes, you did! - I mean, it was like...
And then, I love the idea of that, 'cause it's funny though,
'cause, like, kids would be like, "No one wants to be Winston."
Like, he was late in the group,
and he was like, "How about you be Winston?"
And not a scientist. You bring up good points.
- I think it's wrong... - That's true,
because science is a huge thing for this group.
- It is. That's the thing. They're... - Smart kids.
They want to figure things out. They do.
But he does... Winston does convince the mayor...
- Winston's the one who's like... - He does.
- I've seen shit that you wouldn't believe. - That's right.
And he has my favorite scene in Ghostbusters, which is the scene
where him and Ray are talking about Judgment Day in the car,
which is why we give Lucas the line about Judgment Day in episode eight.
Judgment day.
It's my favorite scene in Ghostbusters. It's incredible.
The thing that people forget...
It's also a scary movie, and it's serious at times.
- It's not straight comedy. - Yeah.
I mean, it's very funny, but also sometimes it's played serious.
And that scene in the car sort of sets up the stakes in that movie in a real way,
and it's, like, my favorite scene in the whole movie.
And that's a Winston scene. So he's not getting enough credit.
- But let's be honest, he's not Venkman. - No, he's not Venkman.
- No one's Venkman. - We got property...
What's happening with the apple? Why...
- How did you get a snack? - One, why do you have an apple?
- You're not eating it. - Why is there an apple in your hand?
It's not even a little bit related to the theme of this set.
We all agreed if we brought snacks, we'd share,
- and you brought one apple for all of us. - Why is there an apple in here?
So let's get a knife to cut it up into a bunch of pieces.
- We might have to take a break. - Stop that now.
Now the apple's a problem. Put it under the table.
We're gonna keep talking about the show Stranger Things.
This is the crap we deal with.
This, by the way, is the kind of crap we deal with.
- I love it. I love the continuity issue. - Like, what?
By the way, this is maybe the best peek behind the curtain.
Just random weird kid shit like that.
I bet working with them in general was always an adventure.
Yeah, but we've always said, it is an adventure always,
but that's the kind of weird kid specificity...
- Yeah, sure. - That was great.
that made all these kids get these parts.
Yeah, notes that you would never give anybody else.
- Like what? - Like, well, like, season one,
it was like, stop slapping each other before the take,
'cause it's turning... It's turning your faces red.
- I never had to give... - Why were you slapping each other?
- We were full of adrenaline, I guess. - I don't know. Yeah.
It's like their brains aren't fully developed.
Wait, ours are? Have we reached...
I think so. I think they stopped developing. For sure.
Yeah. We got as high as we're gonna get as adults.
You end up... when you're directing the show,
you end up saying phrases
that you will never again use as a director.
- It's unique, directing this young cast. - I love it.
This season, we got to see a lot of home lives
that we never really got privy to, from Barb to your home life.
But specifically, you know, I just want to talk about introduction
of your family and Erica.
Don't know.
Don't care.
Is he with Mike?
Like I said:
I don't know, and I don't care.
Please tell him it's super important. Please tell him that I have a Code...
Code Red?
- Yep, Code Red. Exactly. - Mm-hmm.
I got a code for you instead.
It's called Code Shut Your Mouth.
- She's hilarious. - So good.
- So much. - So funny.
It reminds me of someone I know, like my little sister.
But now she's eye to eye with me,
so I'm not going to argue with her like that anymore, but...
That Erica moment where she mouthed, I think it was "nerd."
While you were taking pictures.
- So good. - I could have watched just that moment,
- because I was... - I'm waiting for that to become a GIF.
Maybe it already is, and nobody told me.
I don't know where she got that timing. Don't know where it came from.
- I don't know. - That was another wonderful moment.
Obviously this is a key part of Stranger Things 2,
as far this little love triangle, yes.
Let's get into it.
Going really quickly, 'cause I think,
Dustin thinks if Dart... Dart is his key to, like, impressing her.
Yeah.
- So what? - "So what?"
- You wanted to tell her, too. -But I didn't.
We all agreed not to tell her,
- and to look for Dart. -Who you conveniently found.
Is that what you would say... Is that the best way to woo her?
That's his idea of something that's super interesting
That's gonna pull people in, because that's all he knows.
- I can't believe what I'm seeing. - Why are you blowing your nose?
You are in a two shot! You know the camera's somewhere there.
- Come on! - I know.
Okay. It just couldn't wait.
Caleb's like, "Well, I'm done talking, so I'll get to business."
- Not me. - Not me. I'm done talking.
- I'm really sorry. - Don't, don't!
- All right. Sorry. - We're good.
- We're good now. - At least you're not slapping each other.
Okay, so I do think that is Dustin's idea of impressing someone,
'cause it's really all he knows.
Stop laughing, please. That's really all he knows.
Because, I mean... He's grown up with a bunch of guys.
Really, the closest woman he has in his life is his mom.
Awesome, right?
I rigged the trap with a motor to make it look like I caught a ghost.
Just like the movie.
Dusty.
He loves his mother,
but his mom is always been... "That's super cool honey,
that's awesome, you're doing great," so he's like, "Girls like this. Awesome."
So, he gets this little lizard thing,
and this little, like...
I feel like it's less about him discovering a weird species,
but that it's his discovery.
What are you, little guy?
And that it's his discovery and he has something to say, "I've done this...
- Yeah. - "I'm awesome.
Hi, how you doing? I'm awesome. I have a lizard now."
Or, "I've discovered a new species,"
even though it's not really the ideal way.
In his defense, discovering your own species is pretty cool.
- It's pretty cool. - It is pretty cool, but ultimately,
this is our pairing, and Lucas, just throw it out there.
- RIP Dustin's love life. - How do we feel?
- I don't know. - Do you feel...
Let's put everyone on the spot. Right choice?
- I mean, in my opinion... - It's right.
- I think... Yeah. - Come on, hop on.
Hurry.
This better be good, stalker.
You were, like, so wrapped up in, like, all of the...
You know, Dart turning into a Demogorgon.
- Yeah, yeah. - That you kind of... I don't know,
I sort of spent more time with Lucas rather than Dustin.
It's interesting, because it's a decision to go up on the top of the bus,
or stay down there. That's the moment.
That's good.
Just show her you don't care.
He was kind of taking that advice from Steve a little too literally.
A little too literally, where instead of just not being interested,
he's just... "Get out of my face. Why are you here? Go away."
- He turned into Mike for a second. - Right, yeah. Exactly.
That's exactly what she didn't want,
because Mike was not accepting of her,
and didn't want anything to do with her,
but Lucas and Dustin were there for her, because she was new,
and know she's very tough,
and she's got that... "I don't need anyone, I'm independent."
'Cause she was like, "Why won't you let me in your party?"
- She wanted to have friends. - She genuinely wanted to be...
And we were her friends. We were her first friends there.
So for me to just be like, "Get out of my face. Go home... "
I kind of felt a little bit betrayed.
You guys have anything in the room
that was part of this decision-making process about...
how this would end?
This was always the endgame. I guess it could have shifted,
but this is one of the things that never changed.
We always had that moment with Dustin and Nancy.
That was an early moment.
You know, you have these ideas early on that become...
Snowball Dance, which becomes sort of the building blocks.
And that scene was one of the big pieces that goes up on the board,
and you're like, "That's staying, no matter what,
- and how do we get there?" - I want to use this moment
to talk about music for a second,
because obviously Snowball has some wonderful needle drops,
but the whole season does as well.
How integral are those song choices in the design?
A lot of the Snowball stuff was written in the script.
- So, which... I mean... - I think Police were written there.
- Police, "Every Breath You Take." - Love Police.
- You picked a stalker song. - Yeah, well, some find it not creepy.
You're talking about "Every Breath You Take"?
- Yes. It's creepy as hell. - Some people feel that way.
It's scary.
You still don't like our song choice?
I'm not saying that. It's just creepy.
I love the song, but it's creepy.
- It's also because... - It was big...
- It was huge. I think it was number one. - It was a huge hit.
Also, again, like Dig Dug, the idea of... "I'll be watching you,"
- given how the season ends... - Yeah.
and the fact that there is still something watching.
Yeah. Nice
- Oh, wow, that's cool. - Okay.
- Everything connects. - See?
- So we needed to be creepy. - Not accidental.
And other stuff, like Olivia Newton-John... That just is...
I remember we discovered that the day of,
- just scrolling through, going through... - Which one was Olivia Newton?
- It's when he enters the Snowball. - Which song was it?
- I can't remember. - "Twist of Fate."
- Oh, my God. - Yes, "Twist of Fate."
- That's a deep cut, boys. - That's a deep cut.
That is, like, the John Travolta and her movie
But to answer your question, we sweat the songs a lot.
And some of them are written...
Obviously, the Clash was written in season one from day one,
but a lot of these are trial and error, and, you know...
Sometimes the stuff you plan, you put it on the scene
and it's just... Something isn't quite clicking.
Most of our music budget went into the last episode.
- I would say. - Yes.
I would say that dance is chock-full of some goodness.
We're at the dance. We have to talk about the kiss
for Max and Lucas.
How was shooting that?
You didn't...
- What happened? - This is all your fault.
- Go on. - Let's hear.
- It is not my fault. - Take us to shooting that.
You guys... It was not written in the script.
- The kiss was not in the script. - True.
I get there, the first day of filming the Snowball,
me and Noah are walking in, seeing the decorations.
One of you... I think it was you, Ross.
You say, "Sadie, ready for the kiss?" I'm like, "What? No!
No, that's not in the script. That's not happening."
And so the whole day I was stressed out. I was like, "Oh, my God.
- Am I gonna have to... " - Is it that bad?
You were stressed out the whole day. Okay, I understand.
No. I was like, "Wait, is it gonna happen? Is it not?"
It didn't happen that day, but then... The second day of filming the Snowball.
Yeah, but you reacted so strongly to this. I was just joking.
And you were so freaked out,
that I was like, "Well, I gotta make her do it now."
That's what happened.
- That's why it's my fault? - That's why I'm saying it's your fault.
It's great. I can't imagine it without it. Thank you.
Well, yeah. You're welcome.
- It is a great moment. - We made you guys kiss a lot.
How many takes was this? Seven?
- No, it was... - Twenty.
- No. - Twenty? Seven to 20?
- In the middle. - I feel like...
Our Steadicam op just got so tired, because we kept going, "Go again."
- You were trying... - You see the camera go...
You were trying to get his reaction,
- but then also, like... - It was timing.
Get the kiss right.
- That's what Caleb says. - You know what? We...
What? No.
You needed to do a Finn.
Finn told us what he did. He goes...
Under his breath, he goes, "I'm coming in."
That's what he did?
We learned this, as part of this fascinating aftershow,
that under his breath... Millie said he's like a ventriloquist,
because he found a way without his lips moving.
"I'm coming in."
- That's how the pros do it. - That's how they got through it.
So they only had to do it twice, whereas you guys,
because you didn't mumble, "I'm coming in... "
We had to do it like ten times. Bob was saying, "Now. Now."
- I know. The camera... Yeah, Bob... - Bob the Steadicam operator.
He's a good camera op, but he was clearly terrible at timing this kiss.
Oh, my God. It feels like everyone keeps throwing blame to different people
- about this kiss. - There's no blame on me,
- I was standing there. - It's okay.
- I feel bad for Bob. - Bob's fault.
- A smidgen. - "Bob" is a fateful name
for a lot of reasons with Stranger Things 2.
Your side of the kiss, real quick. I'm just curious.
I was there. I'm like, "The kiss is going to happen today."
I'm like, "Yeah. Sadie, are you ready?"
She's like... I'm like...
So then, it starts getting closer, I'm like, "Wow.
I'm really going to kiss today," 'cause it was my first kiss,
So I'm like, "This is feeling weird."
And then I heard a big applause. They're like, "You're next."
I'm like, "What?"
And then, Finn and Millie came back.
Millie's face was red, and Finn was like, "We kissed."
I'm like, "What?" It's like, "You're next."
And then background was like, "Ooh."
I know. It didn't help that our first kiss was in front of, like, 200 extras.
- Yes, and then it was like... - And parents and crew,
- and my mom. - And your parents.
It's going to be in front of a lot more people.
- Yeah. - Oh, yeah.
Your first kiss is going to be in front of... Yes.
Yes.
No real segue to this, I just want to know.
I want to talk about the growl. Your growl.
- There. - Oh, yeah.
I told you to stop that.
I'll see you tomorrow.
- Later. - Where did it come from?
- Was it here? - Me.
- It's all him. - It was me.
- What is that? - I don't know.
- I remember... - It starts off with my Chewie impression.
That's not the Chewie.
- Meet... - My Chewie impression.
- Yeah. - It needs a little work, but...
- That was pretty good. - It's pretty good.
I asked. I'm like, "Can I do that little purr?"
And they're like, "Sure, do it!" So I did it, like, 40 times.
So after that... Some takes, I was like...
- What the hell was that? - We'll get it in ADR.
Yeah, in ADR. Actually, I hadn't...
I didn't have to do any of those purrs during ADR.
- No. We have a lot of them. - We got them all.
- We got plenty of those. - That's great.
Thank you for being here.
It was so great. It's always just great to learn
- wonderful behind-the-scenes... - The apple!
Now you can eat it, 'cause we're wrapping up!
Know what? We need it, 'cause then we can...
Why don't you take us out while he eats?
Yes, okay. While Caleb finishes his apple...
Which he did not bring any to share with us... You at home know the drill.
I get to stay here and you get to watch me with some brand-new guests and questions
on another chapter of Beyond Stranger Things,
starting right about now.
All right. Well, that really made a good apple.
- That was the worst. - Thank you.
Awesome, guys.