Dunedin, Maniototo and Ōamaru locations will feature in Netflix’s East of Eden, due for release later this year. Photo / Supplied
Dunedin, Maniototo and Ōamaru locations will feature in Netflix’s East of Eden, due for release later this year. Photo / Supplied
Some American literature lovers are fuming that Netflix’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s beloved California novel East of Eden is being filmed on New Zealand soil.
Production teams took over Ōamaru’s Victorian Precinct for two weeks in January this year for filming.
The streaming giant’s decision to use New Zealand asa swap for the Salinas Valley – the setting of Steinbeck’s 1952 classic – has drawn criticism after a trailer dropped online this week, with fans taking to X to express their anger.
“What a deeply odd choice when the land itself is the most important character,” one wrote.
“I’m going to struggle to watch it. I lived in Salinas as a girl. The setting in this book is essential to me. It feels wrong to have it filmed elsewhere. Doesn’t feel like the same story,” said another.
Considered one of California’s defining literary works, East of Eden is deeply tied to the Salinas Valley and the state’s geography and identity, New York Post reported.
Dunedin, Maniototo and Ōamaru locations will feature in Netflix’s East of Eden, due for release later this year. Photo / Supplied
However Phil Turner, locations manager who worked on East of Eden, said the region offered rare authenticity.
“These are incredibly unique locations that can replicate period settings in a way that’s very difficult to achieve elsewhere; you’d almost have to build a set to match somewhere like the Ōamaru Historic Precinct. It’s unique globally,” he said.
New Zealand also offers generous screen production rebates, which can return up to 20% of qualifying costs to international studios, which have long made the country an attractive destination for major Hollywood productions.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has made this a goal for the government.
“We are sending a clear message to the world: New Zealand is the best place in the world to make movies,” Willis said last year. “Bring your productions here to take advantage of our talent and locations.”
Ōamaru’s Victorian Precinct was transformed into early 20th-century California during filming for Netflix’s East of Eden. Photo / Supplied
Filming wrapped in New Zealand this year, before United States President Donald Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on films produced outside the US, New York Post reported.
Trump said Hollywood was dying a “very fast death” because of incentives offered by other countries.
“I never thought I’d see the day when it would be MORE expensive to shoot a movie or TV series in LA than anywhere else in the country or world,” a user posted on X.
The seven-episode series stars Florence Pugh and is expected to debut this year.
