A Dodge Homecoming with the Duffer brothers

Fresh off the release of season four, ‘Stranger Things’ creators and 2007 Chapman alumni Matt and Ross Duffer returned to Chapman to deliver Dodge College’s second masterclass of the year. Photo courtesy of Gretchen Albers

In 2017, Antony Post made the trek from New Jersey to Southern California in order to find the perfect film school. Although the optimal Disneyland location was enticing, it wasn’t just the nearby amusement mark, modest suburban surroundings or small class sizes that led Post to choose Chapman.

When he and his mother pulled into the West Campus Parking Structure for the first time, a massive “Stranger Things” banner dawned over them, boasting the success of 2007 alumni Matt and Ross Duffer.

“When I saw the banner hanging proudly on one of the parking structures… for me it became quantifiable,” said Post, a junior film studies major. “If you come to this school, you get to create one of the best works — one of my favorites — and it felt very surreal. Looking back on it, it definitely felt like a watershed moment where I just knew this was inescapable, this was my chance to roll the dice.”

On Oct. 1, Post, along with over 500 students and guests, packed the Folino Theater to full capacity to hear from the Chapman alumni responsible for the acclaimed show that’s logged billions of hours streamed on Netflix. Eager ticket holders had the opportunity to listen to the Duffer brothers speak about their time at Chapman, their reaction to the success of “Stranger Things,” career advice and their immense love of board games.

Prior to the interview, episode one of season four, “The Hellfire Club” was aired for the audience. Massive roars of applause erupted throughout the theater as each character’s face appeared for the first time, along with the infamous grandfather clock and even the soundbite for the viral “Chrissy Wake Up” TikTok sound.

For Post, he told The Panther the experience of watching the show with a crowd felt surprisingly comfortable.

“I do think that watching with an audience and hearing all the cheers and the applause — it shows that this is a show that understands its audience, but also isn’t afraid to change things up," Post said. "Season four is so tonally distinct from season three, and they’re able to introduce new characters. It’s just masterfully done.”

After a 15-minute break, attendees made their way back to their seats as Michael Kowalski — an associate dean of academic affairs for Dodge College of Film and Media Arts — introduced the Duffer brothers. Kowalski, who was a former professor to the Duffer brothers, moderated the conversation and began with their experience at Chapman, where they were exposed to films pre-1970 and able to shoot on location for the first time.

“It was such a perfect microcosm for what we were going to do,” Matt Duffer said at the event. “It was a perfect training ground… It felt like we were on a set for the first time.”

The brothers would go on to divide and conquer, interning around Los Angeles. They eventually sold their first feature script in 2015 called “Hidden.” After shooting the film, it sat on the shelf of Warner Bros for an extended period, later receiving a limited release and few reviews.

“It felt like someone let us into the party and someone else said, ‘Hey, those two guys aren’t supposed to be here,’” Matt Duffer said.

Although they felt discouraged, they received advice from acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro who sat with them and rated every scene of the film on a scale of one to 10. They were also brought on to work with M. Night Shyamalan on the show “Wayward Pines.”

On the back-burner, the Duffer brothers were working on developing and pitching “Stranger Things.” In their first week, they received 10 rejections and were even told to remove the kids from the show. Soon after, their agent had a meeting with a Netflix representative. Although the meeting was for a different project, when the agent heard Netflix was looking for a youth-driven, supernatural show, he knew this was the perfect chance to pitch “Stranger Things.”

Even though the brothers’ first love was film, they were excited to make the shift to television.

“What we ended up loving about television… you have to turn over these pages,” Ross Duffer said. “When there was a gun to our heads (due to the quick turnaround), we can’t just go in circles forever. That whole first season (of Stranger Things) was the same way… we’d just write and let it come out of us.”

The conversation then shifted towards the brothers’ advice for Chapman students. Matt Duffer recommended not having too many safety nets because they can become too tempting to take. He also told aspiring actors to move to Atlanta, where much of “Stranger Things” was shot since they had to recruit local actors. Ross Duffer told students to take an internship where you can read all the bad scripts to learn what not to do and not overvalue advice from others.

“So much of what we’ve learned has been trial and error,” Ross Duffer said. “Advice can be helpful but at some point you have to stumble and make the mistake for yourself.”

Despite having confidence in their idea, nothing could have prepared the brothers for the reception of “Stranger Things,” which averaged 14.07 million adult viewers in its first 35 days on Netflix and received 18 Emmy nominations.

“We were shocked that anyone was even letting us make this,” Ross Duffer said. “The goal was to make something that was not a total failure. We were just shocked that anyone was watching it. It was surreal.”

The Duffer brothers revealed that when they’re not working on the show, they’re diving into their love of board games. Ross Duffer made sure to note that Monopoly is not a good game and they prefer more niche games such as Terraforming Mars.

The conversation was capped off with a discussion of Kate Bush’s song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God),” which became a recurring motif in season four. The Duffer brothers then answered student questions for 15 minutes and shot down the rumor that Hashinger Science Center is the direct inspiration for the lab in “Stranger Things.” However, they did not deny that they could have been influenced on a subconscious level.

As a “Stranger Things” super-fan and sophomore film production major, Aliana Nuño couldn’t miss the opportunity to hear the Duffer brothers speak.

“I think as a film production major, it was really cool to hear all the advice they had and overall get to know them better,” Nuño said. “It was a really good experience to have such great alumni come back to Chapman. Since season one in 2016, I’ve been really into (“Stranger Things”), and I’ve watched every season as soon as they came out, on the day."

Since many students were unable to attend the master class, the master class was streamed on Zoom. For those who weren’t able to obtain a seat, Post offers a hopeful outlook for the future.

“I imagine they’ll come back for season five,” Post said. “The possibilities between the Duffers and Chapman and their paths crossing are endless. I have hope but that’s the relentless optimism in me.”