Stranger Things

Skylar Gaertner wanted to be one of the kids solving mysteries in Hawkins, Indiana, but he ended up being the son of a drug dealer in the Lake of the Ozarks ... and he's glad!

We got the "Ozark" star at LAX Tuesday. He plays Jonah Byrde on the show, but tells us that wouldn't be the case if he had not been rejected for another crazy popular Netflix's original series.

Skylar says he actually auditioned for 2 roles on "Stranger Things" -- back when it was called "Montauk" -- but didn't get them.

Silver lining -- he's on another mega-popular show now ... which is also entering its third season.

"Stranger Things" child actors need to put their time in before they can hit the 6-figure payouts, as one actress is learning after being added as a new character just last year.

Sadie Sink -- who was newly introduced as Max in season 2 -- isn't making nearly as much money as her very famous costars -- namely Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, etc. -- according to her minor's contact. She's raking in about $25k per episode.

According to the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Sadie's S2 episodic compensation was a little over $23,000 per episode, with at least 7 episodes guaranteed. The season ended up producing 9 episodes, so she took home an extra $46k, more or less. Not bad.

For season 3, however, she got a raise of about $1,000 per episode -- and is set to get similar raises if the show continues until season 8. As we've reported ... the OG child stars of the show were on the same schedule at first, but reportedly negotiated HUGE increases as of late ... upwards of $200k per episode and possibly even more.

If Sadie's smart -- or has a good agent -- she'll also get to the negotiating table soon enough. Gotta be tough knowing your coworkers are making roughly 10 times more than you daily.

"Stranger Things" star Finn Wolfhard's bank account is loving 2018 ... on the heels of his huge raise for the TV show, he's also scored a sweet movie role with a fat paycheck.

Finn, who plays Mike Wheeler -- ringleader of the 'Stranger' kids -- is co-starring in "The Goldfinch" ... a movie based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by the same name. If you know the story ... Finn plays young Boris (if you don't know it, the movie will be out next year).

He's not the lead, but it's a crucial character in the plot. Finn's only 15, so his contract has to be filed in court ... and according to the docs, his base salary will be $65,000. He can also earn up to an additional $50k if the movie is a massive worldwide hit.

His OT rate is pretty good, too. If filming exceeds the planned dates, Finn gets $4,333 per day!

By the way, Finn's day job is mentioned in the contract. If filming runs into "Stranger Things" production ... the movie has to take a backseat to the Netflix hit. The kid knows where his bread is buttered.

As we've reported, Finn and his 'Stranger' co-stars just got huge pay bumps ... around $250,000 per episode of season 3.

Gaten Matarazzo's more than just the mop-haired, potty-mouthed Dustin from "Stranger Things" ... the kid's also got some pipes as the lead singer of a rock band.

Gaten's band -- Work In Progress -- jammed at the legendary Troubadour venue in Weho Friday night for not just one show ... but 2. The group mostly does cover songs -- including tracks by The Fratellis and Noel Gallagher -- but we're told they busted out some original stuff, too.

Gaten's older sister, Sabrina, is also in the band backing him up on vocals.

Strangely enough -- Matarazzo's not the only kid from the hit Netflix show with a rock band ... his co-star Finn Wolfhard's the guitarist and singer of Vancouver alternative rock group Calpurnia.

The Duffer Brothers have a smoking gun to prove they didn't rip off "Stranger Things" ... TMZ has learned.

The brothers are being sued by Charlie Kessler, who produced a short film back in 2012 called "Montauk." He claims he had a meeting with the Duffers in 2014 where he pitched them a series based on the short film. He says he never heard back, but was shocked when "Stranger Things" debuted in 2016, using his script idea and story.

TMZ has obtained emails showing the Duffer Brothers were developing a "Montauk" series as far back as November, 2010 -- 3 1/2 years before Kessler claims he even pitched the show to them.

In 2 emails in November, 2010, the brothers set out their vision ... a "real," "paranormal" "gritty eighties" show. In one of the emails, it specifically says the show is set in Montauk. There is a reference to "the Montauk experiments."

A Google document dated October, 4, 2013, would become the premise for "Stranger Things" ... "Benny (renamed Will for the show) leaves his friend Elliot's house, a bunch of kids are there, eating pizza, dungeons and dragons ... Benny leaves on bike, hears voices, goes into strange world, taken by some evil force."

Two emails from 2014 -- February 27 and April 4 -- both written before the alleged meeting between the Duffer brothers and Kessler, lay out the vision for the show. It reads, "...set in 1980s Long Island" with "a vintage Stephen King feel." The April 4 email mentions a location scout in Montauk.

The lawyer for the Duffer Brothers tells TMZ, "These documents prove that Mr. Kessler had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of 'Stranger Things.' The Duffer Brothers were developing their project years before he claims to have met them."

10:45 AM PT -- The attorney for the Duffer Brothers tells TMZ, "Mr. Kessler's claim is completely meritless. He had no connection to the creation or development of 'Stranger Things.' The Duffer Brothers have neither seen Mr. Kessler's short nor discussed any project with him. This is just an attempt to profit from other people's creativity and hard work."

A "Stranger Things" casting call looks like a smoking gun in the lawsuit accusing show creators, the Duffer brothers, of ripping off a short film -- because it's black and white proof they jacked the film's title.

We've obtained the casting call, from Aug. 2015, for the role of "Barbara." It includes the following, "You have a self tape request for the Netflix series 'Montauk' starring Winona Ryder." The references to Barb (the description's hilarious and dead-on) and Winona make it clear this was "Stranger Things."

The document also lists Matt and Ross Duffer as writers and directors of the series. TMZ broke the story, the bros were sued by Charlie Kessler, who says he not only made a short film about top secret government experiments entitled "Montauk" ... but he pitched the Duffers a project based on his film.

The timing of the casting call is also super suspect. Kessler says his pitch meeting with the Duffers went down in April 2014. They did NOT strike a deal, but lo and behold, in August 2015 the Duffers were casting for their series, "Montauk."

Netflix had even proudly announced in April 2015 they were buying the series WITH that title.

So, neither the Duffers nor Netflix was bashful about copying Kessler's title ... at the very least. Whether they copied his script could fall to a jury, with the casting call being exhibit A.

The creators of "Stranger Things" did not have an original idea for the paranormal show ... instead they allegedly ripped off a writer who handed the idea to them on a silver platter.

Charlie Kessler claims in a new lawsuit, he produced a short film called "Montauk," which premiered in 2012 and even won an award at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The centerpiece of the flick involves top secret government experiments ... a key plot point in "Stranger Things."

Kessler says in April 2014, he and his agents pitched the concept to the Duffer Brothers as a full-blown series, but the idea seemed to die right there.

Kessler says he was shocked when "Stranger Things" came out in July 2016 and claims the brothers used his script, idea, story and film to make the hit show. He even claims the show was initially sold with the name of his short film -- "The Montauk Project."

Millie Bobby Brown must've channeled Eleven's superpowers when it came time to renegotiate her "Stranger Things" contract ... because she's getting an ENORMOUS raise.

Brown -- who plays the teen girl with psychokinetic abilities -- was scheduled to get paid just shy of $25k per episode for season 3 of the popular Netflix series ... according to her original contract, obtained by TMZ.

That would've been an increase of about $1,000 per episode from season 2, but as we reported ... the main cast of kids renegotiated and got fat pay bumps for season 3 to around $250,000 per episode.

Millie's raise is reportedly even more, though ... possibly as much as $350,000, which would match the salaries of the adult stars of the show, David Harbour and Winona Ryder.

That means for a 9-episode season 3, Brown could haul in as much as $3.15 million ... as opposed to the roughly $225k she'd have gotten in her original contract.

It's good to be Eleven.

Gaten Matarazzo -- who plays curly-haired, potty-mouthed Dustin on the Netflix smash hit "Stranger Things" -- didn't just get a raise for season 3 ... he hit the jackpot.

According to Gaten's original contract, he was scheduled to get a slight salary increase for the upcoming season, much like he did for season 2. The docs, obtained by TMZ, show he was due a bump of slightly less than $1,000 per episode -- from $16,800 to $17,640 per episode in season 3.

Nothing to sneeze at, but according to multiple reports, Gaten and his co-stars renegotiated their deals and will now make between $200 to $250 THOUSAND per episode for season 3!!

Now, we know how sweet a deal it is -- around a 1,200 percent raise ... for a 15-year-old.

Kudos to his agent!

Kim Kardashian has broken her silence with the paparazzi -- and the first words out of her mouth are gonna send "Stranger Things" fans into a frenzy.

We got Kim Wednesday leaving her DASH store and fired off a bunch of questions to see if she'd finally bite for once. Turns out, Millie Bobby Brown got her talking.

Kim recently gifted Millie a set from her new fragrance line, Kimoji Hearts, and Millie was clearly grateful. The 2 ladies have kinda been fangirling over each other as of late.

In light of their newfound friendship, we ask Kim if she'd ever consider a guest spot on the hit Netflix show. It's possible ... apparently it's her fave. Well, 2nd fave ... Millie, too, actually.

Millie Bobby Brown became the definition of "young love" while watching her pop star BF from backstage -- and after watching this ... you'll be saying AWWWWW.

TMZ obtained video of singer Jacob Sartorius' Wednesday night concert in Atlanta, where his new gal and fellow child star was perched behind a curtain looking on with a big fat smile.

There's no hiding it now -- Millie and Jacob are definitely a thing. The role of backstage girlfriend has been well established in relationships ... just ask Selena Gomez.

The kids from "Stranger Things" got in each other's face ... for an awesome dance-off!!!

The kiddos were getting down Sunday night at the Sunset Tower Hotel for the Netflix SAG Awards after-party ... and leading the way were Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo as Fat Joe's "Lean Back" blared from the speakers.

Actors Lonnie Chavis ("This is Us") and Marsai Martin ("Black-ish") also joined in on the fun. The kids went wild when Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" came on. Huge little fans for sure.

"Stranger Things" star David Harbour is counting on the camera shaving 10 pounds, instead of adding it, when it comes to his new role as demon superhero, Hellboy.

Harbour had to go through an intense 10-week boot camp, so he could transform from the dad bod he normally rocks to play Sheriff Hopper on 'Stranger.'

When we got Harbour leaving Poppy in West Hollywood, not only was he extremely pumped to see us, but it was pretty obvious his intense training was paying off.

He wouldn't give us a sneak peek of his new rock solid abs, but he did give one of the best TMZ on-camera exits ever.

French model Thylane Blondeau has advice for kids out there being coined "the next big thing" like "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown, and she knows how to survive the hype.

Thylane walked her first catwalk at age 4 and was dubbed the 'World's Most Beautiful Girl' by age 6, when other kids were just learning to count past 100.

She's now 16 and still crushing it in the biz ... so when she arrived at LAX Tuesday, we asked her to coach up 13-year-old MBB. Thylane's first tip -- move to the South of France.

WARNING: SEASON 2 SPOILER ALERT

Finn Wolfhard aka Mike on "Stranger Things" might've been his co-star Millie Bobby Brown's official first kiss, but she wasn't his.

We got Finn at LAX Friday where he told us about the first time he puckered up all the way back in kindergarten! As for kissing Millie -- Finn says it's all in a day's work.

One of the kids on "Stranger Things" has been so well trained on not giving away spoilers for the new season ... he sounds like a dad telling his kids no dessert before dinner.

We got Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, and asked if he had just one little juicy tidbit he could share before Season 2 drops in a couple of days.

Besides him saying "It's gonna be good," Gaten hilariously insists on keeping a lid on things -- but he was happy to tell us about the new pressure on the whole cast, now that Season 1 "raised the bar" so high. He also opened up about his favorite stuff from the '80s ... and it's pretty funny.