Death of Lee Tamahori, director of James Bond: Die Another Day
The New Zealand director was 75 years old.
New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, behind the powerful Kiwi drama The Soul of Warriors as well as the blockbuster James Bond Die another daydied at the age of 75. His family said he suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
“His legacy lives on through his whānau, his mokopuna, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he crossed and every story he told with his genius eye and honest heart”the family told RNZ, New Zealand’s public service.
Born in Wellington in 1950, of Maori ancestry on his father’s side and British on his mother’s side, Tamahori stood out from his first film, The Soul of Warriors (1994). A raw and uncompromising portrait of Māori life, the film became a milestone in New Zealand cinema and revealed a new and impactful voice in the international landscape.
Hollywood wasted no time in making eyes at him. He then directed the action film At loggerheads (1997) with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, then adapted James Patterson and Alex Cross in The Spider’s Mask (2001) with Morgan Freeman. In 2002, he achieved his biggest commercial success: Die another daythe very last James Bond of the Pierce Brosnan era, also starring Halle Berry. While Tamahori’s direction was praised, the film received mixed reviews but still grossed $432 million worldwide.
His next projects — xXx²: The Next Level Or Devil’s Double — did not meet with the same success. After a more discreet period, he returned to New Zealand with Mahana (The Patriarch in 2016) then The Convert (2023).
Lee Tamahori leaves behind a body of work marked by the contrast between committed cinema and Hollywood blockbuster, and a legacy that will continue to inspire.
