In Heart of the Beast, New Zealand's South Island Makes a Compelling Dupe for Alaska

The survival thriller doubles as a heartwarming animal flick about the bond between human and dog.Scott GarfieldOn Location peels back the curtain on some of your favorite films, television shows, and more. This time, we take a look at Heart of the Beast.The Alaskan wilderness is an essential character in Heart of the Beast, a survival drama starring Brad Pitt as a former special forces officer named Sergeant Major James Belmont. The film plunges James deep into the wilds with his retired military dog Odin after their small plan crash lands during a camping trip. They are 58 miles away from the nearest road, their surroundings now a threat.Uber as 'Odin' and Brad Pitt as 'James Belmont' in Heart of the Beast from Paramount Pictures.Paramount Pictures“The wilderness is essential in the film,” director David Ayer says. “There's a visual journey of moving through the land, and the land gives us immense challenges. A lot of thought went into the locations and how we would film them.”Instead of going to Alaska, the production recreated the Land of the Midnight Sun in New Zealand, primarily on the South Island near the town of Glenorchy. Production designer Greg Berry wanted to ensure that James and Odin’s journey felt as realistic as possible and conveyed the dual sensibility of nature.“We wanted there to be moments of lightness and darkness,” Berry says. “There’s a lot of visual expansion and contraction in the visual storytelling depending on where we are in their travels. We were always using the landscape to help tell the story.”Ayers says the short production period of 45 days added to the energy of the film. “It was a real race, and we were in very remote places,” he says. “It almost had a documentary feel to it. The biggest challenge was showing up every day knowing you were going to be exhausted and cold and on broken ground. Brad was an incredible inspiration. He was cold, wet, tired, hungry, but he never left the set. We wanted to capture Brad's amazing work and not let him down because he really put it all out there.” Below, he and Berry tell us all about where Heart of the Beast was filmed.James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and Odin in Heart of the Beast from Paramount Pictures.Scott GarfieldFlying into AlaskaJames and Odin, who was played by four different dogs, arrive in Alaska via six-seater Cessna 185 plane. They soar over picturesque glaciers, which offer a sense of the Alaskan landscape. The filmmakers actually flew a plane over the Earnslaw Burn, a valley and glacier near Glenorchy, and Mount Earnslaw.“We had a camera in the plane and chased it with a helicopter,” Ayer says. “We used a gifted bush pilot who really understood how to fly in those conditions, which was important because you're taking a very small aircraft up at sunset with a lot of wind currents and turbulence. My favorite shot is a top-down shot of the plane flying over the cracks in the glacier, and it looks like elephant skin.”James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and Odin in Heart of the Beast from Paramount Pictures.Scott GarfieldThe campsiteJames and Odin initially land on the edge of a lake, where they set up camp. The campsite was shot at Lake Wakatipu, which borders both Queenstown and Glenorchy. “It's a massive lake surrounded by mountains and glaciers,” Ayer says. “It’s some of the most stunning land I've seen.” Chinaman’s Bluff stood in for the field where James plays with Odin, and the Dart River was used as the meadow’s riverbank. Jordan Creek Forest, in the area of Paradise, offered a thick, wooded area where James encounters a fellow traveler, played by J.K. Simmons.The plane crashThe plane crash was filmed both on location and at Kumeū Film Studios in Auckland. The plane’s route was created using two locations, Lake Sylvan as the approach and Lake Gunn as the crash site. “Lake Sylvan was inaccessible, and you couldn't even get in by helicopter,” Berry says. “So we used the area as aerial plates, and then we used a little beach at Lake Gunn for the crash itself. The rest was done in a tank.”“We crashed the actual plane into a studio tank,” Ayer adds. “But some of the flying is very real, and that was a lot of fun to shoot. We put Brad on the plane and got some amazing shots. And Brad was swimming in the actual lake, which we had to helicopter into. For that day, there was a handful of crew and then Brad in very cold water.”After crawling out of the water, James has to search for Odin, who fell out of the plane during the landing. That was filmed in a private ski resort known as the Invincible Snowfields, which was also used for the duo’s encounter with a bear.James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and Odin in Heart of the Beast from Paramount Pictures.Scott GarfieldJourney through the wildMultiple locations were used as the forests and mountains that James and Odin trek across. The pair climbed along the edge of Earnslaw Burn’s peak, across boulders in the Routeburn River, and through the Routeburn Valley. Working with the dogs added an extra layer of consideration.“There were a few locations we went to that are very protected and have protected wildlife. So the dogs had to go to wildlife school to make sure they wouldn't chase anything around,” Ayer says. “I think there was a dog who didn't pass the test, so he couldn't come to some of the locations. They come to set just like any other actor—they go through hair and makeup and wardrobe, and they're ready to work.”River crossingOne of the most terrifying moments comes when James is forced to coax Odin across two decaying logs above a rushing river. The challenges of the stunt meant that most of the scene had to be shot on a soundstage, where Berry built the log crossing. “I wanted to make it have an interesting challenge in the middle, so I conceived this idea that one log wasn't enough,” he says. “We combined the set with plates from Poutini's Gorge in the Arahura River.”Even on a set, the scene was difficult to shoot. “We had Brad and Uber, [one dog] who played Odin, on safety lines,” Ayer says. “That kind of work is dangerous in its own right because you have actors up in the air. At a certain point, Brad wasn't acting because I think he is actually afraid of heights.”Wolf attackAnother scene shot on a set was the wolf attack, where a pack of ravenous wolves circle James and Odin and force them to fight. Berry created a set that entrapped the pair with the landscape as well. “We built this rocky bluff where the wolves could be above him and around him,” Berry says. “All of the action was done with people in grey suits [as the wolves].”“Sadly, we had to use CGI for all of the wildlife,” Ayer adds. “New Zealand wouldn’t let us bring wolves into the country, and there are no grizzly bears there. In fact, there are no natural predators there at all.”Brad Pitt plays James Belmont in Heart of the Beast from Paramount Pictures.Scott GarfieldSwamp crossingJames and Odin later trek through a deep swamp, which would have been too difficult to do on location. Instead, Berry built the swamp on an indoor soundstage and filled it with water. “We built a path for Brad and the dog to walk through,” Berry says. “Brad was submerged up to his chest at one point.”The vantage pointJames and Odin drag themselves from the swamp onto a scenic vantage point, not far from the road. Those scenes were filmed in Paradise Trust, which had the overlook, an expansive field, and the road all connected. One of the dogs did actually run across the field at full speed. “We did that a lot, and the dog never got tired,” Ayer says. “We had cameras and we had drones. It's a beautiful emotional shot, and it's so simple, but the dog was definitely running.”Military flashbacksThe flashback scenes of James and Odin while in the military were filmed on the backlot at Kumeū Film Studios. Berry built a large set that could be used from multiple angles in the Afghan village, while Queenstown Hill was used for the Blackhawk helicopter scenes. We built some pretty elaborate sets and then blew some things up,” Ayer says. “There’s a lot of special effects and a lot of technology involved in those moments.”Emily Zemler is a freelance entertainment and travel writer based in London. She regularly contributes to the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Observer, and more. She is the author of four books. ... Read MoreMore hotels nearby$$$ | New Zealand, Tomarata, 11 Te Ara Whenua Miharo KotitiA world-class links golf resort an hour north of Auckland, hidden so completely inside the dunes that you can't see a single roofline from the water.Powered By: Te Arai Links$$ | New Zealand, Queenstown, 569 Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd.New Zealand’s perennial luxury lodge stands out for its food, service, and incredible surroundings.$$ | New Zealand, Auckland, Princes Wharf 147 Quay Street$$$ | New Zealand, Te Awanga, 446 Clifton RoadThe pinnacle of luxury on Hawke's Bay and the ideal place to unwind—especially if you're a golfer or a birder.