James Cameron’s wildly successful Avatar film from 2009 is not over as the director has said that he plans to make 3 sequels which will be filmed in New Zealand.
While the performance-capture work will be filmed in Los Angeles, the live-action aspect of the film will be shot in New Zealand as was the first film. Shooting for the three sequels will begin at the same time late 2014 or early 2015 with the first sequel being released by Christmas 2016.
This marks another highlight for New Zealand tourism as both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films were shot there and have been used as a draw for tourists wanting to see the filming locations.
However, this is also another hard hit on the California film industry as they continue to lose business to rivals such as Canada, the UK, and New Zealand. The incentives these countries provide make it very tempting for directors to film there instead of in Hollywood.
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Source: LA Times