Renowned filmmaker Lee Tamahori has passed away at the age of 75 in his New Zealand home. His family disclosed to the country’s public broadcaster that Tamahori had been fighting Parkinson’s disease. “His legacy lives on through his family, his grandchildren, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he shattered, and every story he told with his extraordinary vision and sincere heart,” the family shared with RNZ.
Tamahori gained international acclaim for directing the 2002 James Bond film “Die Another Day,” featuring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry. The action-packed movie follows 007 as he is captured by North Korean agents and endures a harsh prison sentence, only to be released suspicious of a mole within his agency. The film also starred Rosamund Pike, Judi Dench, and Rick Yune. Tamahori first made waves with his directorial debut in 1994 with “Once Were Warriors,” a film celebrated as one of New Zealand’s finest cinematic achievements.
In 1996, Tamahori directed the high-budget Hollywood drama “Mulholland Falls,” a neo-noir crime thriller set in 1950s Los Angeles. The movie, starring Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, and Michael Madsen, follows an elite LAPD squad as they unravel a murder case that unveils a larger conspiracy. Tamahori’s diverse portfolio also includes directing “xXx: State of the Union,” “Next,” “The Convert,” and episodes of acclaimed television series such as “The Sopranos” and “Billions.”
He has a film in post-production: The Emperor starring Adrien Brody. Tamahori was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He was of Māori ancestry on his father’s side and British on his mother’s. Tamahori moved into the film industry the late 1970s. He found employment as a boom operator for Television New Zealand, and on the feature films Skin Deep, Goodbye Pork Pie, Bad Blood, and Race for the Yankee Zephyr.
In the early 1980s, Tamahori was an assistant director on Utu, and he subsequently worked as first assistant director on The Silent One, Murphy’s The Quiet Earth, Came a Hot Friday, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. In 1986, Tamahori co-founded the production company Flying Fish, and made high-profile television commercials. Then came Once Were Warriors, a gritty depiction of a violent Māori family. Tamahori moved to Hollywood and directed Mulholland Falls which was considered a flop.
The Edge (1997), which starred Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin and Elle Macpherson, was a successful survivor tale. Next was Die Another Day (2002). He also directed an episode of The Sopranos and the thriller Along Came a Spider (2001) with Monica Potter and Morgan Freeman.
Tamahori’s next film was the sequel to XXX (2002), titled XXX: State of the Union (2005) with Ice Cube and Samuel L Jackson. In 2007 he directed Next with Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel. In 2012, Tamahori started work on Emperor, about a young woman seeking revenge for the execution of her father by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. It shot in 2014 but is still not done.
In 2022, Tamahori directed the historical drama The Convert, starring Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne. Tamahori was married twice and had two sons, one from each marriage.
