James Cameron has confirmed that his New Zealand citizenship is “imminent” as he seeks to escape Donald Trump‘s “horrifying” second term as president. In a new interview with Stuff NZ‘s “The F—ing News,” Cameron was asked for his response to Trump being re-elected.

“I think it’s horrific,” the filmmaker confirmed. “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, and I think they’re hollowing it out as fast as they can for their own benefit.”

Cameron spends much of his time in New Zealand, where his currently working on the Avatar franchise.

“I don’t know if I feel any safer here, but I certainly feel like I don’t have to read about it on the front page every single day,” he acknowledged. “And it’s just sickening. There’s something nice about the New Zealand outlets — at least they’ll put it on page three. I just don’t want to see that guy’s face anymore on the front page of the paper. It’s inescapable there, it’s like watching a car crash over and over and over.”

The director said his impending New Zealand citizenship is “something I’ve worked toward, something I’ve had to sacrifice for,” adding that it “means a lot” to be able to receive it.

“If you’re going to uproot your family and move somewhere, you have to invest, you have to be part of it, you have to earn standing,” he said. “I just think you’ve got to earn your right to be in a place… There’s an innate respect and a demand for respect [here]. Everybody has this kind of equal status in terms of person-hood. And I love that—that’s what I wanted my kids to experience.”

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He added that he hopes to bring “some young blood” into New Zealand’s film industry. “I love working here,” he said. “I love the people that I get to work with here. We’ve got to have the new people. I’m not talking just about writers and directors. I’m talking about the tradies, the craftspeople, the dolly grip, the crane grip. Those are all art forms in of themselves.”

Cameron is currently in post-production on the third Avatar movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash. The movie will hit theaters on Dec. 19. Much of the Avatar cast returned for the new installment, with new additions including Oona Chaplin, Michelle Yeoh, and David Thewlis. Fire and Ash was filmed back-to-back with The Way of Water, resulting in only a three-year wait between sequels; the original Avatar and The Way of Water were separated by 13 years. Cameron has two more Avatar sequels in the works.