Die Another Day director Lee Tamahori has died peacefully at home at the age of 75, his family confirmed in a statement. He had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for some time. In a touching tribute the New Zealand born filmmaker’s loved ones wrote: “His legacy endures with his whānau, his mokopuna, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he broke, and every story he told with his genius eye and honest heart. A charismatic leader and fierce creative spirit, Lee championed Māori talent both on and off screen. He ultimately returned home to tell stories grounded in whakapapa and identity, with Mahana and his latest film The Convert, reaffirming his deep connection to Aotearoa. We’ve lost an immense creative spirit.”
Lee directed Pierce Brosnan in his fourth and final outing as James Bond in 2002 in Die Another Day. It was the 20th movie overall in the long running franchise and became the sixth highest grossing movie of that year. Hollywood superstar Halle Berry took on the role of “Bond girl” co-starring as Giacinta “Jinx” Johnson. Pop music superstar Madonna also had a cameo in the movie and supplied the theme tune.
Having shot to fame in 1994 when his directorial debut, Once Were Warriors was a critical and commercial hit, at the time becoming New Zealand’s highest grossing film of all time, he found himself in demand in Hollywood.
Prior to taking the helm of Bond he had worked on films including 1997’s The Edge, which starred Anthony Hopkins and 2001’s Along Came a Spider, which starred Morgan Freeman.
Other notable movies included the sequel to 2002’s XXX in 2005 titled XXX: State of the Union starring Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe. In 2011 he directed The Devil’s Double starring Dominic Cooper, which was a dramatisation of Latif Yahia’s claims that he was forced to become body double to Uday Hussein, son of Saddam.
His final film the historical drama The Convert, starring Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, hit screens in 2022.
As news of his death broke fans paid tribute to the filmmaker. “Kiwi Legend R.I.L Lee Tamahori you were an extraordinary man with your talents much love and condolences to your whanau,” one wrote on Facebook.
“I loved his directorial venture like Die another Day and we were warriors ….RIP,” another added.
“Moe mai ra. An absolutely huge loss. Thoughts n prayers with his whanau and extended xx,” a third penned.
Meanwhile a fourth chimed in: “Gosh, how sad. He was amazing directing that movie. Sincere condolences to whanau and friends. RIP Lee Tamahori.”