James Cameron has lived in New Zealand with his family since 2020. Photo / Samir Hussein, WireImage
James Cameron has lived in New Zealand with his family since 2020. Photo / Samir Hussein, WireImage
Canadian-born film director James Cameron says he moved to New Zealand because of its “sane” approach to science.
In an appearance on In Depth with Graham Besinger, Cameron refuted the host’s comments about New Zealand’s famous landscapes, telling him, “I’m not there for the scenery, I’m there for thesanity.”
The director of Titanic and the Avatar movies first spent time in Christchurch in 1994, and moved to New Zealand permanently in 2020.
He said he had told his wife, Suzy Amis Cameron, that he intended to move when they first began dating in 1999, after “falling in love with the country, the scenery, the people, the kind of the way of life there”.
Speaking of filming during Covid, Cameron praised the Government’s response, which saw New Zealand go into strict lockdowns to limit infections.
“New Zealand had eliminated the virus completely. They actually eliminated the virus twice. The third time, when it showed up in a mutated form, it broke through.”
He said he loved New Zealand because people were “sane”, referencing the United States’ comparatively low vaccination rates.
“Where would you rather live? A place that actually believes in science and is sane, and where people can work together cohesively to a common goal?
“Or a place where everybody’s at each other’s throats, extremely polarised, turning its back on science and basically would be in utter disarray if another pandemic appears?”
James Cameron and his wife, Suzy Amis Cameron, have lived on and off in New Zealand since 2011, moving here permanently in 2020.
Photo / Annaleise Shortland
Cameron became a New Zealand citizen in August last year after attending a Wellington ceremony.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden told the Herald that his permanent residency was positive for the nation.
“Like thousands of people from across the world who choose to make New Zealand their home each year, I congratulate Mr Cameron on becoming a Kiwi.
“I think New Zealand is the best little country in the world, and I’m always happy to hear others think so too and wish to build their lives here.”
The couple live in Roseneath, Wellington, with their three children and own more than 30 properties around Wairarapa.
Cameron vowed in 2020 that all his future films would be filmed locally, a promise he has kept thus far through the continuation of his Avatar series.
