Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, producer, and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. He is best known for directing '' The Ring'', the ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with th ...

'' films, and '' Rango''. He won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, the BAFTA, and was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time at the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007. It was the first time that the Golden Globe Awards had created a separate category for anim ...

for his work on ''Rango''.

Early life

Verbinski was born in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

, the fourth of five children of Laurette Ann (née McGovern) and Victor Vincent Verbinski, a nuclear physicist.Cinema Odeon – Pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest
. Odeonline.it (1964-03-1). Retrieved on 2011-05-31. His father was of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

descent.

Career

Music career

Verbinski was active in several L.A. rock bands early in his career. He played guitar in the Daredevils, Bulldozer, The Drivers, and the all-star band The Cylon Boys Choir. He was also in a band called The Little Kings, which backed Stiv Bators on his version of "

Have Love Will Travel "Have Love, Will Travel" is a 1959 song written and recorded by Richard Berry. While the song may have been recorded before the end of 1959, the correct release date appears to be January, 1960. The title is based on a popular television/radi ...

" with amateur drummer Chris "Poobah" Bailey. Along with a cover of the

Moody Blues Moody may refer to: Places * Moody, Alabama, U.S. * Moody, Indiana, U.S. * Moody, Missouri, U.S. * Moody, Texas, U.S. * Moody County, South Dakota, U.S. * Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada * Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South A ...

song "

The Story in Your Eyes "The Story in Your Eyes" is a 1971 hit single by the English rock band the Moody Blues. Written by the band's guitarist Justin Hayward, it was first released as a single with "My Song" on the B-side, and then on the 1971 album '' Every Good Boy ...

" (by other musicians), the song was released by Bators in the Fall of 1986 as a 12-inch single on Bomp! (catalogue #12136) and was later included in Bators' compilation album '' L.A. L.A.'' On the compilation album's liner notes, label owner

Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a ...

described the band as "an adequate but rootless Hollywood glam-damaged band with tattoos".

Film career

His first films were a series of 8 mm films called "The Driver Files" c. 1979, when he was a young teen. After graduating from film school at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, he got his first job as a script reader at the commercial production company Limelight in 1987. After director

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

viewed some of his work, he signed to his production company Nitrate Films, and later Palomar Pictures, where he directed music videos for bands like

Vicious Rumors Vicious Rumors are an American power metal band, originally formed in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was conceived by founder and guitarist/vocalist Geoff Thorpe, and has been actively recording and touring worldwide since their ...

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

24-7 Spyz 24-7 Spyz (pronounced "twenty-four-seven spies") are an American rock band from the South Bronx, New York, formed in 1986, originally consisting of Jimi Hazel (born Wayne K. Richardson) (guitars), Rick Skatore (born Kenneth D. Lucas) (bass), Ki ...

and

Monster Magnet Monster Magnet is an American rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums); they have since gone through several lineup c ...

. Verbinski moved from music videos to commercials, where he worked for many brand names including

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Skittles Skittles may refer to: * Skittles (confectionery), a brand of fruit-flavor chewy candy, distributed by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company *'' Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical'' * Skittles (sport), the game from which bowling originated * Skittles (ch ...

and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. One of his most famous commercials was for

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...

, featuring

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

who croak the brand name. For his efforts in commercials, Verbinski won four Clio Awards and one Cannes Advertising Silver Lion. Verbinski started Blind Wink Productions in April 2005. After completing a short film, ''The Ritual'' (which he both wrote and directed), Verbinski made his feature film directing debut with ''

Mouse Hunt ''Mouse Hunt'' is a 1997 American slapstick black comedy film written by Adam Rifkin and directed by Gore Verbinski in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Maury Chaykin, and Christopher Walken. The film follow ...

''. The film was a hit globally and he soon followed up the success with the action/comedy ''

The Mexican ''The Mexican'' is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Its plot is a mixture of different genres. Plot In Los Angeles, a traffic light changes to red a ...

'', starring

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...

and

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

. The film received mixed reviews, and performed modestly at the box-office, earning $68 million domestically which was quite meager considering its star power (it was technically successful due to its moderately low $38 million budget). Verbinski followed it up with the horror film remake '' The Ring'' (2002), which struck gold globally, grossing well over $200 million worldwide. Verbinski also had a directorial hand in ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...

'' that year, temporarily taking over for an exhausted

Simon Wells Simon Finlay Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells, and is best known for directing ''The Prince of Egypt'' with Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner. Ear ...

. Verbinski directed some of the underground Morlock sequences and is given a ''Thanks to'' credit in the film. He then directed the very successful '' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' which earned over $600 million at the international box office. This was his first collaboration with producer

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television Film producer, producer. He has been active in the genres of Action film, action, Drama film, drama, Fantasy film, fantasy, and Science fiction film, science fi ...

, whom he has since collaborated with on several other movies. His next film was ''

The Weather Man ''The Weather Man'' is a 2005 American dark comedy-drama film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Steve Conrad, and starring Nicolas Cage in the lead role, Michael Caine and Hope Davis. It tells the story of a weatherman in the midst of a m ...

'', which starred

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

. The film received mixed to positive reviews but was a box office failure. In March 2005, he started filming the sequels '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End''. The former then became his biggest success so far, becoming the third film ever to gross over $1 billion at the international box office. In 2008, Verbinski's Blind Wink production company signed a deal with Universal. Verbinski was also set to direct a film for

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

based on the video game ''

BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 pla ...

''. Verbinski was then replaced by

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (born 5 December 1967) is a Spanish film director, script writer, and producer. He directed ''Intacto'' and '' 28 Weeks Later'', the sequel to Danny Boyle's ''28 Days Later''. His film ''Esposados'' was nominated for the Aca ...

as director and the film was subsequently cancelled. In 2011 and 2013, Verbinski would delve into the Western genre, with decidedly different results: ''Rango'' was well received, critically and commercially, and earned the

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for animated films. An animated feature is defined by the Academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters' performances are created using a frame-by- ...

. However, his adaptation of the 1930s radio hero, ''The Lone Ranger'' for Disney, was not, the project having been stuck in development hell for several years, undergone rewrites and budget cuts, and gained controversy for the casting of

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

as the Native American

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American (either Comanche or Potawatomi) companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and tele ...

. The film grossed $260 million against a $215–225 million budget, plus an estimated $150–160 million marketing campaign. That same year, he was also the executive producer of the

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

adaptation of ''

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in ''The New Yorker'' on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book '' My World and Welcome to It'' ( Ha ...

'', after being attached as director for several years. In 2016, Verbinski's horror film ''

A Cure for Wellness ''A Cure for Wellness'' is a 2016 psychological neo-gothic horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe, based on a story co-written by Haythe and Verbinski, who were both inspired by Thomas Mann's 1924 novel ''The Magic Mo ...

'' starring

Dane DeHaan Dane William DeHaan ( ; born February 6, 1986) is an American actor known for his roles as Andrew Detmer in '' Chronicle'' (2012), Lucien Carr in '' Kill Your Darlings'' (2013), Harry Osborn / Green Goblin in ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014) ...

premiered at the

Alamo Drafthouse The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...

before receiving a wide release in 2017. It received mediocre reviews from critics and was a financial bomb, grossing $26.6 million against a $40 million budget. Verbinski was set to direct a film centering around

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word ''gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe simi ...

, set within the X-Men film universe, before dropping out of the project in January 2018.

Other projects

Verbinski was involved with ''

Matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic partic ...

'', an original futuristic videogame that was being developed for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

using

Kinect Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...

. Announced at

E3 2012 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 (E3 2012) was the 18th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 5, 2012, and ended on June 7, 2012, with 45,700 total attendees. It was ...

, Verbinski later confirmed that the game is now cancelled.

Filmography

Films

Executive producer * ''

'' (2013)

Music videos

Awards received by Verbinski movies

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verbinski, Gore 1964 births Living people People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee American animated film directors American animated film producers American people of Polish descent American music video directors UCLA Film School alumni Animation screenwriters Annie Award winners Action film directors Fantasy film directors Horror film directors Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Film directors from Tennessee Advertising directors