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The film's crew, including director Cameron and
producer Jon Landau, was given special permission to fly to New
Zealand two weeks ago, even though its borders are closed to
keep out the coronavirus, stirring some grumbling about unfair
treatment.
But Landau said New Zealand had much to gain.
"This one production alone is going to hire 400 New Zealanders
to work on it," Landau told 1News after coming out of a hotel in
Wellington where he and his colleagues have been in quarantine
since they arrived.
"We're going to spend, in the next five months alone, over $70
million here," he said.
Filming was suspended in March, shortly before New Zealand went
into a strict coronavirus lockdown.
The lockdown smothered the outbreak and last week, New Zealand
lifted all restrictions except border controls after declaring
it was free of the virus, one of the first countries in the
world to return to pre-pandemic normality.
Cameron, Landau and dozens of crew members working on the
"Avatar" sequel were allowed back on economic grounds, which
critics said was unfair while families are still separated and
businesses are struggling without key staff.
The film is among a handful of productions getting going in New
Zealand, which hopes to win more film business after its
successful campaign against the coronavirus.
"The opportunities are immense," Landau said.
"We are just the wedge in the door that hopefully unlocks a lot
for the economy.”
New Zealand's mountains, meadows and forests were made famous by
"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and have drawn a growing number
of major film productions over recent years.
(Reporting by Praveen Menon)
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