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Geoff Murphy, a leading figure in the New Zealand movie industry in the 1970s and 80s who also helmed such Hollywood fare as Young Guns II and Freejack and was second-unit director on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died. He was 80. Murphys death was confirmed by The New Zealand Herald.
His directing credits also include Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Never Say Die , Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth, for which he won Best Director at the 1987 New Zealand Film and TV Awards. He also was second-unit helmer on such films as xXx: State of the Union and Dantes Peak. Murphy also produced more than a half-dozen of the films he worked on.
Murphy was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film in 2014 and previously had been named as an Arts Icon by the Arts Foundation, which names the countrys 20 greatest living artists.
We are very saddened to hear kiwi film making legend Geoff Murphy has passed away. Our condolences and much aroha to Geoff's family. Thank you Mr Murphy for entertaining us and letting us know we are strong enough to tell our own stories.
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— Wgtn Film Society (@WgtnFilmSoc) December 3, 2018
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