James Cameron keeps buying - more Wairarapa land for Avatar maker

Film mogul James Cameron has again extended his Wairarapa farm holdings, this time by 25 hectares.

 Throughout this year, the high-profile Canadian director has succeeded in applying to buying chunks of farm land via the state authority.

The Overseas Investment Office released decisions this morning showing it had just approved three further deals, giving him clearance to buy the 25ha.

The decisions released were for a 13.4ha block from an unnamed party, a 4.3ha block from American Andrew Scott Miller and a 9.1ha block from Victoria Ann Shaw and Jeremy Richard Bennett of New Zealand.

The man behind Avatar and Titanic has made a series of separate applications to buy farmland in the area and now has well over 1000ha.

In the latest three decisions, the OIO said Cameron and his family intended to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and Europe Research, LLC of Canada was buying two blocks as part of the wider acquisition.

Cameron's Anglin Classics, LLC of Canada applied to buy the larger 13.4ha.

All 25ha is at Western Lake Rd and all prices on the land were suppressed, marked confidential in the OIO decisions.

Andrew Patersen of Bell Gully handled the applications to the office and the purchases needed approval because the land is regarded as sensitive.

In February, Cameron got approval to buy two large farms - a 250-hectare working dairy farm and 817-hectare hillside property overlooking Pounui - in the South Wairarapa.

Then, in March he got consent to buy 10 hectares of freehold land adjoining the Pounui farm which mainly comprises of native bush.

Thanks: nzherald

Avatar 2, 3 and 4 will be filmed at the same time

James Cameron will film all three of the Avatar sequels at the same time, the flicks' star Sigourney Weaver has confirmed.

The Alien actress stated that the second, third, and fourth instalments of the film franchise will be shot at the same time, with work starting this autumn.

However, speaking to Showbiz 411, the actress said that she does not know how long the filming process is expected to take, adding: 'I just show up.'

Cameron has previously made it clear that he has no interest in working on any projects other than the follow-ups to 2009's Avatar, which is the highest grossing film of all time.

 

In May he told the New York Times: 'I’m in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it. I’m making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4, and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts.

'And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the Avatar landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way.'

It is not known when the films are likely to hit cinemas, however, rumours suggest that they will be released in three consecutive years.

Thanks: metro