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East of Eden showcases scenes of \u014camaru\u2019s Harbour and Tyne streets stripped of modern decor, with the historic Criterion Hotel serving as a key focal point throughout the series. Credit: Supplied <\/p>\nThe historic heart of \u014camaru has stepped into the international spotlight, with stars of a major Netflix production praising the region\u2019s heritage and deep cultural connections.<\/p>\n
The seven-part Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck\u2019s 1952 novel, East of Eden, was filmed early last year in \u014camaru\u2019s Historic Precinct, starring Florence Pugh and Christopher Abbott.<\/p>\n
The precinct was highlighted in a promotional video released in May by the New Zealand Film Commission and Netflix, with a Waitaki District Council release yesterday saying the series had catapulted \u014camaru onto the worldwide stage.<\/p>\n
The promotional video featured cast and crew praising \u014camaru\u2019s heritage, culture, and respect for local iwi.<\/p>\n
Florence Pugh, who starred as the villainous anti-hero Cathy Ames, called New Zealand a \u201cperfect match\u201d for the production.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really felt like a perfect match \u2013 it\u2019s such a beautiful place, the people are amazing, the culture is amazing,\u201d Pugh said.<\/p>\n
She offered special praise for the country\u2019s connection to its land and heritage, something she planned to carry with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe respect to ancestry and the land is something that I just want to take forward into my life every day\u201d.<\/p>\n
Actor Mike Faist, who played Charles Trask, also featured in the video, saying the welcome the cast and crew received from local iwi during filming would remain a \u201ctreasured memory\u201d.<\/p>\n
East of Eden showcases scenes of \u014camaru\u2019s Harbour and Tyne streets stripped of modern decor, with the historic Criterion Hotel serving as a key focal point throughout the series. Credit: Supplied <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the greatest things we got to experience … was a whakatau ceremony, where the rightful owners of the land \u2013 the M\u0101ori tribe \u2013 welcomed us to a ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey blessed us and allowed us to use the land for the sake of what we were doing,\u201d Faist said, describing it as \u201cquite an emotional experience\u201d.<\/p>\n
The region\u2019s historic landscape, maintained by the \u014camaru Whitestone Civic Trust, was praised by director Garth Davis for its almost-untouched preservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just has that epic scope, and it\u2019s relatively untouched as well\u201d.<\/p>\n
Co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer Zoe Kazan, whose grandfather Elia Kazan directed the 1955 film adaptation, said she felt \u201cvery lucky\u201d to have been able to film in \u014camaru.<\/p>\n
The production wrapped filming in late January last year and showcased scenes of \u014camaru\u2019s Harbour and Tyne St stripped of modern decor, with the historic Criterion Hotel serving as a key focal point throughout the series.<\/p>\n
Adapted from the original novel and 1955 film, the story follows an 1800s parallel of the biblical Cain and Abel story, exploring decades of family conflict, morality, and individual choice.<\/p>\n
The series hit Netflix on October 1, taking Netflix\u2019s top series spot and amassing over 6 million views.<\/p>\n
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The historic heart of \u014camaru has stepped into the international spotlight, with stars of a major Netflix production…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50521,1094,111,43,139,69,129475],"class_list":["post-626943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-iwi","tag-netflix","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-oamaru"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}