Lee Tamahori facts for kids

Lee Tamahori, born on June 17, 1950, is a famous film director from New Zealand. He is well-known for his first movie, Once Were Warriors (1994). This film was a huge success and is seen as one of New Zealand's best movies ever.

He has directed many different films both in New Zealand and in Hollywood. Some of his notable works include the survival drama The Edge (1997) and the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002). He also directed the thriller Along Came a Spider (2001) and the drama Mahana (2016).

Tamahori won the New Zealand Film Award for Best Director for Once Were Warriors. He was also nominated for Mahana.

Early Life and Education

Lee Tamahori was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His family background is a mix of Māori (from his father's side) and British (from his mother's side). He grew up in Tawa, a suburb north of Wellington.

He went to Tawa School and Tawa College. Before becoming a film director, he started his career as an artist who created designs for businesses and as a photographer.

Filmmaking Career

Starting in Film

Tamahori began working in the film industry in the late 1970s. He started by working for free to gain experience. Later, he became a boom operator for Television New Zealand. He also worked on feature films like Skin Deep and Goodbye Pork Pie.

In the early 1980s, the director of Pork Pie, Geoff Murphy, gave Tamahori a promotion. He became an assistant director on the film Utu. After that, he worked as a first assistant director on several other movies. In 1986, Tamahori helped start a company called Flying Fish. This company focused on making television commercials. He became well-known for directing many successful commercials. One of his commercials even won an award for 'Commercial of the Decade'.

Directing Feature Films

Before making feature films, Tamahori directed several shorter dramas for television. His first full-length movie was Once Were Warriors in 1994. This film showed the tough life of a Māori family. It was difficult to get money to make the film, but it became a huge hit in New Zealand. It also sold well in other countries and received great reviews from magazines like Time.

After the success of Once Were Warriors, Tamahori moved to Hollywood. There, he directed the crime drama Mulholland Falls (1996). This movie did not do as well with critics or at the box office. However, his next film, The Edge (1997), was very successful. It starred famous actors Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.

He also directed Die Another Day (2002), which was the twentieth James Bond film. At the time, it was the most successful James Bond movie ever made. Tamahori also directed an episode of the TV show The Sopranos and the thriller Along Came a Spider (2001).

Tamahori's next film was XXX: State of the Union (2005). This movie starred Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe. In 2007, he directed Next, a science fiction action film. It was based on a short story by Philip K. Dick and featured Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel.

In 2011, he directed the drama The Devil's Double. This film told the story of Latif Yahia, who claimed he was forced to be a body double for Uday Hussein, the son of Saddam Hussein.

In 2015, Tamahori directed Mahana (also known as The Patriarch). This was his first feature film made in New Zealand since Once Were Warriors. The movie was based on a novel by Witi Ihimaera. It starred Temuera Morrison, who also appeared in Once Were Warriors. Mahana was shown at the Berlin Film Festival before being released in New Zealand in March 2016.

In 2022, Tamahori directed the historical drama The Convert. This film starred Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne.

Personal Life

Lee Tamahori has been married twice. He has two sons, one from each marriage.

Filmography

Film

• Thunderbox (1989, short film)
• Once Were Warriors (1994)
• Mulholland Falls (1996)
• The Edge (1997)
• Along Came a Spider (2001)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• XXX: State of the Union (2005)
• Next (2007)
• The Devil's Double (2011)
• Mahana (2016)
• Emperor (2017) (unreleased)
• The Convert (2023)

Television

• The Ray Bradbury Theater (1990-92, 3 episodes)
• Billions (2020, 1 episode)

See also

In Spanish: Lee Tamahori para niños