Lee Tamahori, director of Once Were Warriors and Die Another Day, passes away at 75
1news in New Zealand has reported that Kiwi director Lee Tamahori has passed at the age of 75. The director was known for such projects as Once Were Warriors, The Edge, Mulholland Falls, Die Another Day, xXx: State of the Union and Next. His family revealed in a statement that he passed surrounded by family, which includes his long-time love Justine, his beloved children Sam, Max, Meka and Tané, his daughter-in-laws Casey, who is expecting, and Meri, his darling mokopuna Cora Lee, and whānau.
In the family statement, it said, “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.”
Tamahori had been in a battle with Parkinson’s disease and, back in April, he updated his health with Whakaata Māori, saying, “Mentally, I still have my marbles in my head.”
He found success after his feature film debut, Once Were Warriors, was released and presented a powerful and confronting story, which was based on Alan Duff’s book. It had sparked national debate from its depiction of domestic violence in an Auckland urban Māori family. Once Were Warriors also launched the careers of Temuera Morrison (Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones), Rena Owen (Whina) and Cliff Curtis (Doctor Sleep). When Tamahori migrated to Hollywood, he helmed big-budgeted movies like the aforemtioned Die Another Day, Along Came a Spider and The Devil’s Double. He also directed on several television episodes like The Sopranos and Billions.
According to IMDb, his upcoming film, Emperor, is still in “post-production,” but the film is said to be held up by legal issues. Per Wikipedia, Emperor is about a young woman seeking revenge for the execution of her father by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Adrien Brody was cast in 2014 to portray the Emperor opposite Sophie Cookson as the young woman looking for vengeance, also cast in 2014.
In 2006, Tamahori had a brush with the law when he was arrested in Los Angeles when he allegedly offered sexual services to an undercover police officer. He was eventually sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to complete 15 days of community service, including cleaning the streets of Hollywood. Tamahori commented how it had little impact in his career when speaking with Whakaata Māori earlier this year, “Nobody gave a sh*t over there, it was only here. It was early internet savagery. But, you know, you make your bed and you lie in it.”
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