James Bond director Lee Tamahori dies

Director of the James Bond film Lee Tamahori has passed away. He died at his home on Thursday, aged 75. His family told Radio New Zealand that he had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for a long time.

Born in Wellington in 1950, Tamahori was of Māori and British descent. He began working in the film industry in Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s. He worked as a technician on several films by Geoff Murphy and as first assistant director in Nagisa Oshima’s international production Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

Tamahori rose to fame as a director with the 1994 film Once Were Warriors, which depicted the struggle and violence within a Māori family living in Auckland. After its release, it became New Zealand’s highest-grossing film of all time and earned international acclaim.

He later went on to work in Hollywood, directing the period noir Mulholland Falls starring Nick Nolte and Chazz Palminteri.

His most notable work came in 2002 with the James Bond film Die Another Day, which achieved major box office success upon release.