Movie director James Cameron has been welcomed by locals,
film-makers and farmers after buying more than 1000ha of land
in south Wairarapa.
The Avatar, Titanic and Terminator director has bought two
farms in the region.
South Wairarapa Mayor Adrienne Staples welcomed Cameron and
his family and commended his choice to settle in the region.
"It's very exciting. I think it's an absolute boon for the
district. If anybody wants to come in and invest from
elsewhere in New Zealand or overseas, that's great,'' Ms
Staples said.
"But when a high-profile person, who could live anywhere in
the world, chooses to live here, that's fantastic.''
She believed Cameron would quickly acclimatise to the colder
weather of south Wairarapa after years of living in warmer
climes.
"He is a Canadian and they get snow. I'm sure he'll cope,''
she said.
Cameron was also welcomed by the New Zealand Film Commission
and the Ministry of Economic Development.
New Zealand Film Commission chief executive Graeme Mason said
his organisation had administered the Large Budget Screen
Production Grants for the New Zealand involvement in the
making of Avatar, which began in 2007 alongside Wellington
visual effects company Weta Digital.
Mr Mason welcomed the film-maker "and the chance to work with
him if that opportunity arose in the future''.
Minister of Economic Development Steven Joyce said: "To have
somebody of his standing to be added to the burgeoning
Wairarapa movie scene is good.''
Cameron is expected to move to Wairarapa with his family from
his present Malibu, California, home later in the year, as
work begins on the sequel to Avatar at Weta Digital in the
capital.
He said he hoped his family would be accepted as "good
neighbours and good members of the community in South
Wairarapa'' and that he was thrilled to be shifting to the
region.
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