Director Lee Tamahori Photo: Leon Bennett / Getty images / Profimedia
The New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, who stood out for the feature film “Once Were Warriors” (1994), as well as for directing a film from the “James Bond” franchise, died on Friday at the age of 75, the filmmaker's family announced, according to AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
He is considered one of the most influential Māori personalities in the entertainment industry.
The filmmaker became known in Hollywood in 1994 thanks to the feature film “Once Were Warriors” (1994), a story about violence and poverty in the heart of a Maori family in New Zealand. In 1995, Tamahori made his first American film, “Mulholland Falls”, starring Nick Nolte and John Malkovich.
Tamahori, who also directed episodes of the series “The Sopranos”, was specialized, as far as productions for the big screen are concerned, in action films.
In 2002, he directed “Die Another Day”, a film from the “James Bond” franchise and which stars Pierce Brosnan in the role of agent 007 and Halle Berry, in the role of his partner.
Actor Temuera Morrison, who starred in Once Were Warriors, paid tribute to this “extraordinary man” on Saturday. “It's enough to see the number of Māori who have launched into this industry, the number of Māori he's recruited through his auditions,” the actor told Radio New Zealand.
