Lee Tamahori, Director of James Bond‘s ‘Die Another Day,’ Dies
Lee Tamahori, the acclaimed New zealand filmmaker who directed Pierce brosnan in his final James Bond outing, has died. He was 66. News of his death prompted an outpouring of tributes from fans and industry figures, recognizing a meaningful loss to the world of cinema.
Tamahori rose to prominence with his 1994 directorial debut, Onc Were warriors, wich became New Zealand’s highest-grossing film of all time and garnered critical acclaim. This success propelled him into Hollywood, where he helmed a diverse range of projects.
He is perhaps best known for Die Another Day (2002), the 20th film in the James Bond franchise. Starring Brosnan as 007 and halle Berry as the ”Bond girl” Giacinta “Jinx” Johnson, the film became the sixth highest-grossing movie of that year and featured a cameo and theme song by Madonna.
Prior to Bond, Tamahori directed The Edge (1997), featuring Anthony Hopkins, and Along Came a Spider (2001) with Morgan freeman. His later work included XXX: State of the Union (2005), starring Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe, and The Devil’s Double (2011), a dramatization of Latif Yahia’s experiences as a body double for Uday Hussein. His final film, the historical drama The Convert, starring Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, was released in 2022.
Fans quickly took to social media to express their grief. “Kiwi Legend R.I.L Lee Tamahori you were an exceptional man with your talents much love and condolences to your whanau,” one Facebook user wrote. Another commented, “I loved his directorial venture like Die another Day and we were warriors ….RIP.”