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Evan Agostini
Jenna Ortega is the Gen-Z scream queen, after appearances in Scream, Wednesday, and X.
Jenna Ortega, the star of Netflix’s Wednesday series and the rebooted Scream franchise, has raved about New Zealand, calling the country’s scenery “the most beautiful thing”.
Ortega spent time in Aotearoa in 2021 to shoot Ti West’s A24-produced horror film, X, which also starred New Zealand’s own Martin Henderson and was filmed in Rangitīkei, Whanganui, and Wellington.
During an interview for Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Ortega and Shepard bonded over a shared love and appreciation for the country – especially its capital city.
“I love Wellington, I decided I could live there,” Ortega said. “We would go to the beach every day, and it was black sand beaches everywhere.
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“For some reason all the people there live in harmony and everything is fine and nice. Also, it was in the middle of the pandemic, but Covid did not exist there practically so live music was still playing – to go back home was so disappointing.”
Shepard also waxed lyrical about “Windy Wellington”, saying that he became “so in love with it” after shooting his first film in the capital.
“It was such a magical experience in my mind,” Shepard said.
Christopher Moss/Supplied
Martin Henderson, Ti West and Mia Goth on the set of X, the slasher movie filmed in New Zealand.
Beyond the capital, Ortega praised the beauty of the natural environment and the merits of “sleepy” Whanganui.
“Everything that you see there just so happens to be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life,” Ortega raved.
Ortega stayed in a Whanganui motor lodge during the filming of X, the horror film, joking that its owner “didn’t like me very much,” because there was a hot tub in the middle of her room and no curtain on the shower.
Jack Plunkett
Jenna Ortega was appearing on Dax Shepard’s podcast, where he engages in freewheeling banter with A-list celebrities.
Ortega also described staying at the Q Hotel whilst filming in Wellington, and praising the Willie Nelson decor on every floor.
“They had a photo of Willie Nelson from the top of the wall to the bottom of the wall,” she joked. “So it was me and Willie Nelson.”
Ortega described waking up “the most hungover” she had ever been after performing a bar crawl in the city, and the difficulties of having to perform a bloodcurdling scream after an evening spent drinking Jamiesons.
Shepard agreed that the drinking culture in New Zealand was one to witness.
“I had an apartment downtown [in Wellington]. God bless those Kiwis – they can drink,” Shepard said. “I have never seen more people throwing up on the street in public.”
Shepard’s podcast has previously featured David Farrier as an expert on conspiracy theories, and Shepard’s Armchair Umbrella company produces the Kiwi journalist’s Flightless Bird podcast.
Ortega is currently on-screen in cinemas nationwide in Scream VI, the sixth instalment of the classic horror franchise.
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