James Cameron slams 'horrifying' Trump news, calls his New Zealand citizenship 'imminent'

Over a month after President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term, legendary director James Cameron is not holding his tongue.
In an interview with the New Zealand news outlet Stuff, the Canadian filmmaker voiced concern over the state of the American government and relief about living oceans away. Cameron is set to become a New Zealand citizen in the coming weeks, describing it as "imminent," according to the outlet.
"I think it's horrific," the 70-year-old filmmaker said of Trump round two. "I think it's horrifying. … I see a turn away from everything decent. America doesn't stand for anything if it doesn't stand for what it has historically stood for. It becomes a hollow idea."
Paste BN has reached out to reps for further comment.
While Hollywood has long been home to plenty of Trump's critics, the second election has brought forth a quieter resistance. Awards season, usually marked by fiery political speeches, has seen less specifically "anti-Trump" language, and more focus on individual groups like immigrants and transgender Americans that have been targeted by some of the administration's recent actions.
"I think they're hollowing it out as fast as they can," Cameron said of the new president and his appointees. "For their own benefit."
Despite not living stateside, the director of blockbusters like "Avatar" and "Titanic," said he can't quite sever his connection to the U.S. and tune out.
"I think we're all in this together globally, I don't know if I feel any safer here," he told the outlet, "but I certainly feel like I don't have to read it on the front page every single day and it's just sickening."
The New Zealand papers, he joked, will usually bury the Trump news on page three, which is a welcome departure from what Cameron says feels "like watching a car crash over and over."
"I just don't want to see that guy's face anymore on the front page of the paper," he said.
Cameron was born in Canada but made a name for himself in Hollywood after moving to America. His ties with New Zealand run deep though − both high-grossing "Avatar" films were made with Weta Digital, an Oscar-winning visual effects studio based in Wellington, the country's capital.