Stranger Things just indirectly saved someone’s life, after a 12-year-old Florida native successfully performed CPR by copying a scene in the sci-fi/horror series.
As reported by USA Today, Austen Macmillan resuscitated his behavioral therapist Jason Piquette after he unexpectedly started drowning in the Macmillan family’s pool. When Austen’s mother, Christina, asked him where he learned CPR, the 12-year-old replied that he had mimicked Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Jim Hopper’s (David Harbour) efforts to revive Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) with chest compressions in Stranger Things Season 1, Episode 8, “Chapter Eight: The Upside Down.”
Macmillan citing Stranger Things as the inspiration behind his heroic actions comes after one of the show’s stars, Finn Wolfhard, revealed how he was influenced by a horror-themed property when making his directorial debut. According to Wolfhard, who has portrayed Mike Wheeler across all four seasons of Stranger Things to date, the film he co-helmed with Billy Bryk, Hell of a Summer, takes its cues from 2004 classic Shaun of the Dead. Wolfhard praised Shaun of the Dead as “the epitome of a film that does homage to classic horror films while also being a really great character-driven comedy” and praised its low-stakes, relatable narrative.
Deadpool 3 Director Talks Stranger Things Season 5
While Hell of a Summer has now established Wolfhard’s credentials as a director, he’s not expected to call the shots on any of Stranger Things Season 5’s episodes. Instead, directorial duties for the Netflix show’s final batch of episodes will likely fall to more experienced filmmakers, including Deadpool 3‘s Shawn Levy. Levy recently confirmed that he intends to “direct at least one episode” of Stranger Things Season 5, in part due to his close working relationship with Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer.
Other directors slated to head up installments of Stranger Things‘ last-ever season include Prey‘s Dan Trachtenberg, who recently insisted the show would follow a different playbook to HBO’s Game of Thrones. “I don’t think Stranger Things falls into a category of television seasons like Game of Thrones where the pilot is cool, slows down, and the last two episodes are the big battle,” he said. Trachtenberg also teased Stranger Things Season 5’s soundtrack, hinting that classic rock and roll tracks will remain an important part of the sci-fi/horror coming-of-age drama’s soundscape.
Stranger Things Seasons 1-4 are currently streaming on Netflix. Season 5 does not yet have a release date.
Source: USA Today