Once Were Warriors

Background:

“Sex should not be in the movies and should be in the home, and violence should be in the movies and not in the home.” Lee Tamahori

Award-winning film director Lee Tamahori had already had a strong reputation as a TV commercial director in his native of New Zealand before attaining international critical acclaim with his powerful feature film debut, “Once Were Warriors” (1994). For his brilliant work, he took home several honors, including the Anicaflash Prize from the 1994 Venice Film Festival. After the huge success, Tamahori broke into Hollywood cinema with “Mulholland Falls” (1996). Since then, he has directed “The Edge” (1997), “Along Came a Spider” (2001), “Die Another Day” (2002), “xXx: State of the Union” (2005) and “Next” (2007).

In January 2006, Tamahori, who was dressed as a woman, was arrested in Los Angeles after offering an undercover cop oral sex. He was accused with criminal violation.

New Zealander

Childhood and Family:

Lee Tamahori was born on June 17, 1950, in Wellington, New Zealand. His father is Maori and her mother is British.

Die Another Day

Career:

Lee Tamahori entered the cinematic industry in the late 1970s as boom operator. He moved on as an assistant director in the early 1980s, working in a number of New Zealand movies like Derek Morton's “Wild Horses” (1983), Geoff Murphy's “Utu” (1983) and “The Quiet Earth” (1985), the award-winning family-oriented “The Silent One” (1984) and the indie-drama “Bridge to Nowhere” (1986). Tamahori, who once also worked as a commercial artist and photographer, branched out to TV commercial directing in the mid-1980s and scored international notice with his work. During his 10-year tenure, he made over 100 commercials, including one “Commonwealth Games (WW1)” that won a 1990 New Zealand Film and TV for Best Commercial, and was singled out for his storytelling style.

Thank to his successful TV commercials, Tamahori had the opportunity to direct his first feature film, “Once Were Warriors” (1994), about an insulting father and his family coping with being social castaways in New Zealand. Adapted from a novel by Alan Duff, the provocative drama became a worldwide sensation and earned the director such awards as a New Zealand Film for Best Director, three Montréal World Film Festival for Grand Prix des Amériques, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Public Prize, Critics' Award - Special Mention from Fantasporto, an Audience Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and a Anicaflash Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Before long, Hollywood came calling.

1996 found Tamahori make his American debut with “Muholland Falls,” a crime/thriller starring Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Chris Penn and John Malkovich. The film won Griffith a 1997 Best Supporting Actress Razzie. For his follow-up effort, “The Edge” (1997), Tamahori teamed up with writer David Mamet and such notable actors as Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. After completing the films, he took hiatus for a time and resurfaced in 2000 to direct “Toodle-Fucking-Oo,” an episode of the popular HBO TV series “The Sopranos.” The following year, he returned to filmmaking as the director of “Along Came a Spider,” the installment to the successful thriller “Kiss the Girls” (1997). Like its predecessor, the film again put Morgan Freeman in the lead role of detective Alec Cross.

In an occasion, Tamahori disclosed that he enjoyed the freedoms offered by independent films and planned to return to his native of New Zealand to make another independent film after making three American studio films. However, he remained stateside in the following year and directed the 20th installment of the James Bond films, “Die Another Day” (2002), starring Pierce Brosnan as 007 and Halle Berry as the Bond girl. Three years later, he directed Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson and Willem Dafoe for “xXx: State of the Union” (2005), a second film from the “xXx” franchise.

Tamahori's new movie, “Next,” was released in April 2007. The action/fantasy starred Nicolas Cage as Cris Johnson, Julianne Moore as Callie Ferris, Jessica Biel as Liz Cooper and Thomas Kretschmann as Mr. Smith, among others.

Awards:

• Venice Film Festival: Anicaflash Prize, “Once Were Warriors,” 1995

• Rotterdam International Film Festival: Audience Award, “Once Were Warriors,” 1995

• Fantasporto: Critics' Award - Special Mention, “Once Were Warriors,” 1995

• Montréal World Film Festival: Grand Prix des Amériques, “Once Were Warriors,” 1994

• Montréal World Film Festival: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, “Once Were Warriors,” 1994

• Montréal World Film Festival: Public Prize, “Once Were Warriors,” 1994

• New Zealand Film: Best Director, “Once Were Warriors,” 1994

• New Zealand Film: Best Commercial, “Commonwealth Games” (WW1),” 1990