As someone familiar with major shipwrecks, James Cameron has gotten out while the getting is good.
The 3x Oscar winner recently revealed that his New Zealand citizenship is “imminent” after President Donald Trump was elected for a second term in November, noting the move is “something I’ve worked toward, something I’ve had to sacrifice for.”
“I see a turn away from everything decent,” he told NZ’s Stuff of the U.S. under Trump’s administration. “America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for. It becomes a hollow idea, and I think they’re hollowing it out as fast as they can for their own benefit.”
Cameron added, “I don’t know if I feel any safer here, but I certainly feel like I don’t have to read about it on the front page every single day. And it’s just sickening. There’s something nice about the New Zealand outlets — at least they’ll put it on page three. I just don’t want to see that guy’s face anymore on the front page of the paper. It’s inescapable there, it’s like watching a car crash over and over and over.”
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The Avatar: Fire and Ash director, who owns a farm in Wairarapa and plans to film his future projects in Wellington, believes people should “earn your right to be in a place.”
“If you’re going to uproot your family and move somewhere, you have to invest, you have to be part of it, you have to earn standing,” said Cameron.
In 2023, Cameron expressed his intentions to recruit “some young blood” into NZ’s film industry. “I love working here. I love the people that I get to work with here,” he said.
“We’ve got to have the new people,” added Cameron. “I’m not talking just about writers and directors. I’m talking about the tradies, the craftspeople, the dolly grip, the crane grip. Those are all art forms in of themselves.”
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