- Lee Tamahori
Infobox actor
name = Lee Tamahori
imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
othernames =
birthdate = birth date and age|1950|6|17
location =Wellington ,New Zealand
occupation =film director
yearsactive =
spouse =
children =
website =Lee Tamahori, born
17 June 1950 inWellington ,New Zealand , is best known as afilm director , although he got his start as a commercial artist andphotographer in the late 1970s.Career
Tamahori is of
Māori ancestry on his father's side and of British ancestry on his mother's. His break as a filmmaker came with "Once Were Warriors" (1994), a gritty depiction of urban Māori life that was phenomenally successful in New Zealand. He then moved toHollywood and directed the period thriller "Mulholland Falls " (1996), although this was not received well critically or commercially. This was followed by the successful wilderness film "The Edge" (1997) and "Die Another Day " (2002), the twentiethJames Bond movie. He also directed numerous episodes of television shows, in particular an episode of "The Sopranos " during its second season.Tamahori's next film was the sequel to "XXX" (2002), entitled "" (2005) starring
Ice Cube andWillem Dafoe ; he replaced the original director,Rob Cohen .His latest film is "Next" (2007), a
science fiction action film based on "The Golden Man ", a short story byPhilip K. Dick . The film starredNicolas Cage ,Julianne Moore , andJessica Biel .Personal life
On January 8, 2006, Tamahori, dressed as a woman, was arrested for allegedly soliciting in Los Angeles, by offering an undercover police officer oral sex. [cite web|title=Tamahori's double life|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/04/1138958948432.html|first=Eric|last=Munn|date=
February 5 ,2006 |work=Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=2007-12-13] However, he was only charged with criminal trespass, having pled no contest in exchange for other charges being dropped. [cite web|title=007 director makes sex case deal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4746004.stm|date=24 February 2006 |work=BBC News|accessdate=2007-12-13]References
External links
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succession box
title=James Bond film director
years=2002
before=Michael Apted
1999
after=Martin Campbell
2006
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