Author Summary
The Duffer Brothers, creators of Netflix's "Stranger Things," reminisce about their childhood near a tobacco farm in Durham, where they started making films young and drew inspiration from local life. (148 characters)
Early Life in Durham
The creators of Netflix's hit "Stranger Things" have pursued filmmaking throughout much of their lives. Brothers Matt and Ross Duffer grew up close to a tobacco farm in Durham. They lived just miles from Duke Forest, kicking off short films as early as third grade.
High School Filmmaking
In high school, the brothers crafted videos for classmates' assignments. Matt shared: "Weed with in high, which people realized our videos if used class assignment would get an automatic." Classmates approached them only for projects, vanishing after earning top grades, only to return later.
When you combine that with a shaky camera of kids, it suddenly became dynamic. For a decade, that project was shown in history classes. — Ross Duffer
Lasting Influences
Ross reflected: "But that was the spark... from that point on, we had to film a movie every weekend for others." The Duffers honor Durham friends and neighbors in "Stranger Things" via various nods, including character names inspired by real people.
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