The strange things Documentary director is breaking her silence after two-hour special got fans thinking about creators red i Matt Duffer used ChatGPT to write the show’s series finale.
One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5which premiered on Monday, January 12, showed a moment where Ross and Mattboth 41, used a Google Doc to structure their ideas for the series finale. A photo of their laptops prompted some fans to point to a tab that appeared to be ChatGPT.
“I mean, are we sure they had ChatGPT open?” director Martina Radwan he said The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, January 14, when asked about the clip circulating on social media.
Radwan questioned the speculation, adding: “There’s a lot of chatter where (social media users) are saying, ‘We don’t really know, but we’re assuming. But for me, it’s like, doesn’t everyone have it open, to do a quick search?
While he had no direct knowledge of whether ChatGPT was used, and the Duffer brothers themselves did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment, Radwan questioned the fans’ assumption.
“No one has really shown that it was open,” he said. “It’s like having your iPhone next to your computer while you’re writing a story. We just use these tools … while we’re multitasking. So there’s a lot going on all the time, every time.”
When they ask directly THRRadwan denied ever seeing “an unethical use of generative artificial intelligence in the writers’ room” for the hit Netflix show.
“No, of course not. I witnessed creative exchanges. I witnessed conversations. People think ‘writers’ room’ means people are sitting there writing. No, it’s a creative exchange. It’s the development of the story,” he explained. “I think being in the writers’ room is a privilege and a gift to be able to witness that.”
One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 documented as Matt and Ross prepared to film the final season. The cameras followed Ross and Matt backstage in the writers roomon set and in the days leading up to the end of production.
After some fans already expressed their dissatisfaction that the series finale did not properly wrap up all of the story lines, the documentary received backlash for showing how late Ross and Matt were in finishing the script for the series finale.
“What I find heartbreaking is that everyone loves the show and all of a sudden we have to split it up,” Radwan noted before confirming that Ross and Matt saw the final product before it aired. “I mean, they were a big part of it, yeah.”
Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, and the rest of the Stranger Things cast have evolved tremendously since the show began in 2016. The once relatively unknown actors burst into the Hollywood industry at full speed following the drama’s massive success. “I don’t think Netflix thought it would be as big as it was, (…)
She continued: “They were very happy. So, I mean, you know, there’s the usual notes like you all, but nothing where we had to pivot. They’re very kind. Once they trust you, they let you work (and didn’t ask me to take anything).”
In a statement premiered before the premiere of the documentary, the Duffers reflected on how the special was for fans of the show and anyone “curious about how a big Hollywood production comes to life.”
“Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, we dreamed of becoming filmmakers, but Hollywood felt so far away. That all changed when we saw the Lord of the Rings behind-the-scenes documentaries, on-the-ground films that showed how mass production is done,” they said. “With the decline of physical media, that kind of behind-the-scenes storytelling has largely disappeared. We wanted to bring it back. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things Season 5, beautifully captured and directed by Martina Radwan, is our attempt to do just that.”
strange things it is currently streaming on Netflix.