James Cameron—the man who gave us killer robots, blue aliens, and a boat that wouldn't share the door—has some thoughts about America. And they're not warm.
In a new interview with "In Depth with Graham Bensinger," the director, who relocated to New Zealand years ago, delivered a blistering critique of his former homeland, contrasting it unfavorably with his adopted country's pandemic response and scientific literacy.
"A place that actually believes in science," Cameron said when asked where he'd rather live, "or a place where everybody's at each other's throats, turning its back on science and basically would be in utter disarray if another pandemic appears."
When Bensinger gently pushed back, suggesting America remains "a fantastic place to live," Cameron responded with the directorial equivalent of a raised eyebrow: "Is it?"
Ouch.
The Avatar maestro has been increasingly vocal about his New Zealand citizenship and his reasons for leaving the States. He praised New Zealand's COVID-19 response—including their 98% vaccination rate and temporary virus elimination—while criticizing America's fractured approach to public health.
This isn't new territory for Cameron. A year earlier, he called America "hollowed out" under Donald Trump, saying he felt "safer" in New Zealand, particularly to escape the relentless news cycle around the former (and now current) president.
Look, Cameron's hardly the first Hollywood figure to criticize American politics from abroad. But there's something particularly pointed about a filmmaker who literally invented the phrase "I'll be back" deciding he won't be back.
He spent years in New Zealand crafting the Avatar sequels—films that, love them or hate them, made billions while preaching environmental responsibility to audiences who drove to the theater in SUVs. There's a delicious irony in Cameron, whose films celebrate technological progress and scientific exploration, abandoning the country that made him a billionaire because it's "turning its back on science."
But here's the thing: he's not entirely wrong.
America's pandemic response was a disaster of political tribalism and anti-scientific conspiracy theories. Our vaccination rates did lag behind countries with more cohesive public health messaging. And the country is increasingly polarized on basic scientific consensus—from climate change to public health to, somehow, the shape of the Earth.
Cameron has always been a filmmaker of big statements and bigger spectacle. His move to New Zealand is both. It's a statement about values, about where he wants to raise his family, about which society he believes functions better.
Whether that makes him prescient or just another rich expatriate who can afford to shop for countries the way most people shop for cars is up for debate. But in typical Cameron fashion, he's not particularly interested in the debate. He's already made his decision.
And unlike Jack Dawson, he found room on the door.
In Hollywood, nobody knows anything—except me, occasionally. But I do know this: when a filmmaker who's spent decades imagining the future decides America isn't part of his, that's worth paying attention to. Whether you agree with him or not.
