Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron can now claim he's a Kiwi, having been granted New Zealand citizenship.
According to Stuff, Cameron and his wife, Suzy Amis, were spotted at a citizenship ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington on Wednesday night – making it official after years of splitting time between here and the US.
In an interview with 1News’ John Campbell last year, Cameron confirmed that Wellington is “home.”
“I love this city, you know, I love being a Wellingtonian.”
He went on to explain how locals won’t bother him in the streets unless they have a direct connection.
“They’d be mortified to be rude and intrude on my day and ask for a picture – it’s cool, it’s like a big small town.”
That’s no surprise after, earlier this week, Kiwis shared all the times they’d spotted a celebrity and let them be. It’s why Kiwi singer Kings claims we treat celebrities better in New Zealand than in America.
The Canadian-born director first fell for our little land of the long white cloud back in 2012 after filming his hit film 'Avatar' here, which went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time until it was overtaken by 'Avengers: Endgame' in 2019.
Right now, he’s deep in post-production on 'Avatar 3: Fire and Ash', set to drop later this year.
And yes, like he promised back in 2020, it’s all being made right here in NZ.
Earlier this year, Cameron teased his official Kiwi status at a Wellington event.
I’ll be a New Zealand citizen in a couple of months – and we’re here to stay. My children love it here and are thriving.
He purchased a farm and home near Lake Pounui in the Wellington region back in 2012. These days, he’s juggling life between his Roseneath home overlooking Wellington Harbour and his Wairarapa farmland.
Congrats, James – now you just have to nail a mana wave to really solidify your status here.
