In the Netflix limited series East of Eden, Zoe Kazan works with fellow showrunner and executive producer Jeb Stuart to deliver a new interpretation of John Steinbeck’s famous 1952 novel previously made into a film starring James Dean by her grandfather, Elia Kazan. Brothers Charles (Mike Faist) and Adam (Christopher Abbott) receive a strict upbringing from their father Cyrus (Tracy Letts) and are eventually driven apart by the influence of Cathy (Florence Pugh), who marries Adam but soon leaves to start a life of her own after giving birth to twin sons.
Awards Buzz had the chance to speak with Kazan and Stuart about their pathways to this project. Kazan addressed how her beginnings as an actress informed her behind-the-scenes work here:
“I think my impulse as a writer is the same, in a weird way, as my impulse as an actor, which is that curiosity about other people and a willingness to explore myself. I think in both ways, I’m coming to it as a reader. I deeply love text. I love thinking about text, why people do the things they do, how you can translate that through action image and word. I think at a certain point early in my career, I would be really bored between jobs and I realized, oh, if I don’t do something with my time, I’m going to self-immolate. So that’s why I started writing more seriously and it has provided me with so much. I think, as I’ve gotten older, what I’ve realized is that I love creating so much, and as an actor, you really have to wait for someone to give you permission to do that. Being able to sit down at my computer and have a creative outlet and make something without anyone’s permission is the freedom that I need in order to feel like a full person, and everything I make has been an extension of that.”
Stuart acknowledged that past screenplays for Die Hard and The Fugitive may not be the expected credentials to tackle this series:
“It’s a strange marriage of talents and stuff like that, but it’s been really fun. It’s been incredible. I’ve learned so much. Back to your original question, even going through our casting process was different from where I came at it, from where Zoe came at it as an actor. So many times, it would be like, well, I’m not seeing this in this particular performance, and Zoe would redirect an actor into a different place, and next thing you know, it just pops. So it’s been a great yin yang for us.”
Watch the video above to hear about the story they most wanted to tell from the source material and their upcoming collaboration on another adaptation, Lonesome Dove.
All seven episodes of East of Eden premiere October 1st on Netflix.
