The film is most famous now for making James Dean a household name. But to a Steinbeck-head, it actually leaves a lot to be desired. “I remember feeling really surprised by how loose an interpretation it is,” says the younger Kazan. The movie covers only a small portion of the text; “some of my favorite characters are not really in it or are really marginalized. It struck me immediately as being a completely different beast than the book.” So Kazan watched, and waited, until she became an established actor and writer herself. She told her agent that if the rights ever became available, she wanted to be considered for a new adaptation, though trying to claim the material for herself felt scary at the time. Even after she pitched her vision and sold the project to Netflix, she thought she needed an A-list director to helm the series. “Someone to hide behind,” she says. “It has really required something of me to take ownership of it.” Which is also a very East of Eden-y thing …