James Cameron is urging the New Zealand Government to reassess its film rebate scheme, warning the country is losing its competitive edge in the global film industry.
The director,whose Avatar: The Way of Water is the third-highest-grossing movie ever with US$2.3 billion in earnings, shot both The Way of Water and the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash in New Zealand between 2017 and 2020. These productions involved over 3500 local and international cast and crew, alongside the team at Weta FX.
However, Cameron says New Zealand faces significant challenges. “We have a big problem being competitive here in New Zealand, the way we used to be, and we took a hard hit here during Covid,” he stated, expressing his desire for the nation’s film industry to thrive as it has in the past.
He is advocating for a ample overhaul of the rebate scheme, not just “some little tiny incremental change that mostly benefits local productions.”
the original 2013 rebate scheme was instrumental in securing the Avatar sequels for New Zealand. A deal was struck with Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox,requiring at least $500 million to be spent on production activity in New Zealand in exchange for tax breaks,and included a commitment to hold one world premiere in Wellington.
James Cameron dismisses Trump’s proposed film tariffs as ‘kind of illegal’
james Cameron has dismissed Donald Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on foreign-made films as “kind of illegal”, saying most in the industry aren’t taking the threat too seriously.
The proposed tariff, announced by Trump’s management in May, would substantially damage the New Zealand film industry. However, Cameron believes such a move isn’t feasible.
“Most of us aren’t taking the tariffs too seriously right now because really it’s IP [intellectual property], it’s not a good, so you can’t really impose a tariff on IP or on photons that are travelling over a network,” he explained.
“So it’s kind of illegal what they’re proposing to do, and you know, who knows with this Government in the US what they might ram through. It truly seems like it’s ‘no rules Tuesday’,but I’m not worried about that.”
Cameron, who has a significant presence in New Zealand’s film industry, previously stated that once his crew, set and props were based here, ther was no going back. The potential tariff raised concerns about whether his team could overcome such a substantial hurdle.
Avatar: the Way of Water’s Visual Effects Supervisor Reflects on Filming in New Zealand
Joe Cameron, the visual effects supervisor for avatar: The Way of Water, says working in New Zealand was a “no-brainer.”
“We did the first film here, and it was fantastic. The infrastructure, the people, the support… it was all here,” Cameron explained.”When we started planning the sequels, it was always going to be New Zealand. I’ve been coming here since 2005, and have been here full time since 2020, so it made sense.”
Cameron says he’s excited for Kiwis to see the film he worked so hard on right on their soil.
“They should see the result of the work as something unusual. I can distance myself from it and see what 3000 people did, most of them here, and what that group effort results in on the screen is just pure magic.”
The plot takes audiences back to the planet of Pandora in an immersive new adventure with Marine turned Na’vi leader Sully – played by lead Sam Worthington – Sigourney Weaver, Jack Champion, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet and Kiwi leads Cliff Curtis and Jemaine Clement.
