Hollywood legend James Cameron gets NZ citizenship

In February, the director told Paddy Gower he was thankful that his New Zealand citizenship was “imminent”. It’s understood that moment came to pass at a citizenship ceremony at Te Papa on Wednesday.
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Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden has welcomed the news.

“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”, van Velden said.

“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.”

Though he is Canadian, for most of the past 14 years Cameron has called Wellywood - not Hollywood - his home.
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“It means a lot. It’s something I’ve worked toward, something I’ve had to sacrifice for. 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. I just think you’ve got to earn your right to be in a place,” he told Gower in February.
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Cameron said he loved his adopted home town Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

“I love the city. You can’t find an ugly spot in this country, but Wellington is unique.”

Cameron said he and his wife Suzy feel like they’re “part of the town”.

“My wife and I'll be walking around the waterfront on a Sunday afternoon, and it's inevitable there'll be five or six people we will meet as we walk around.”

Cameron is responsible for three of the four highest-grossing films of all time: Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and Titanic, which have generated combined revenue of about $13 billion.

His newest film, Avatar: Fire & Ash, will be in cinemas in mid December. It’s the third in his planned five-part movie series.

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