Director James Cameron To Shoot 3 Avatar Sequels In New Zealand Worth RM1.3 Billion
Director James Cameron says the movies will be shot together and released between 2016 and 2018.
By Sadho Ram — 16 Dec 2013, 07:12 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
Director James Cameron says he will be returning to New Zealand to film three sequels to “Avatar,” his enormously popular movie about the blue aliens of Pandora
The director made the announcement Monday in the capital Wellington with producer Jon Landau and Prime Minister John Key. The films will be made by Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox.
James Cameron attends a press conference on Monday in Wellington to announce that he will shoot three sequels to his sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" in New Zealand.
Image via thehindu.comCameron said the movies, with a combined budget of at least NZ$500 million (US$415 million), would be shot back-to-back.
The films have been welcomed in the country and the first sequel will be released in 2016.
dailymail.co.ukAvatar, which was also shot in New Zealand, was released in 2009 and went on to win three Oscars
The 3D film is the highest grossing movie of all time.
theguardian.com
Cameron said of the plans: "It's quite a thrill to be officially saying that we're bringing the Avatar films to New Zealand."
'We had such a wonderful experience here making the first film,' said Cameron.
theguardian.com
On location: James will shoot the sequels in New Zealand, where the first film was made
Image via dailymail.co.ukCameron said work had begun on the writing and design of the movies.
in.comIn a statement, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce described the move as "excellent news for the New Zealand screen industry"
"The Avatar sequels will provide hundreds of jobs and thousands of hours of work directly in the screen sector as well as jobs right across the economy," he said.
Under the new rebate rules, the base will be raised to 20%, with another 5% available if producers meet specific criteria in terms of benefits to New Zealand.
theguardian.com
The changes were aimed at both encouraging domestic production and "increasing the competitiveness of our incentives for international productions in the short to medium term", a separate statement said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key called the Avatar announcement "a great Christmas present for those involved in making world-class movies"
"It's a day of great celebration," Key said. "It's a great Christmas present for those involved in making world class movies."
theguardian.com
As is typical with blockbusters, Cameron declined to disclose a budget
But he did say he expects that economies of scale will help the three movies together cost less than $1 billion.
He said that he intends to make the movies in 3D and to shoot at least some sequences at 48 frames per second.