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Gore Verbinski

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Gore Verbinski
Verbinski in 2010
Born
Gregor Justin Verbinski

(1964-03-16) March 16, 1964 (age 60)
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.
Alma materUCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
  • musician
Years active1989–present
Notable workMouse Hunt
The Ring
Pirates of the Caribbean
Rango
SpouseClayton Verbinski
Children2
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature
Rango (2011)
BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film
Rango (2011)

Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing Mouse Hunt, The Ring, the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, and Rango. For his work on Rango, Verbinski won both the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.

Early life

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Verbinski was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the fourth of five children of Laurette Ann (née McGovern) and Victor Vincent Verbinski, a nuclear physicist.[1][2] His father was of Polish descent.[1][3]

He attended La Jolla High School before enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in cinematography. In his youth, Verbinski was passionate about music and played in several punk rock bands, which influenced his creative approach.[4]

Career

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Music career

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Verbinski was active in several L.A. rock bands early in his career. He played guitar in the Daredevils, Bulldozer with John Thum, Mike Parma and Wiggy, 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" with amateur drummer Chris "Poobah" Bailey. Along with a cover of the Moody Blues song "The Story in Your Eyes" (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 described the band as "an adequate but rootless Hollywood glam-damaged band with tattoos".

Film career

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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, he got his first job as a script reader at the commercial production company Limelight in 1987. After director Julien Temple viewed some of his work, he signed to his production company Nitrate Films, and later Palomar Pictures,[5] where he directed music videos for bands like Vicious Rumors, Bad Religion, NOFX, 24-7 Spyz and Monster Magnet. Verbinski moved from music videos to commercials, where he worked for many brand names including Nike, Coca-Cola, Canon, Skittles and United Airlines. One of his most famous commercials was for Budweiser, featuring frogs who croak the brand name. For his efforts in commercials, Verbinski won four Clio Awards and one Cannes Advertising Silver Lion.

After completing a short film, The Ritual (which he both wrote and directed), Verbinski made his feature film directing debut in 1997 with Mouse Hunt, which became a global hit. Following that film's success, Verbinski planned and developed several aborted projects; The Sky Is Falling,[6] Mission to Mars,[7] Where the Wild Things Are,[8] The Big Ticket,[9] The Light Princess[10] and an unpublished manuscript by William Monahan titled The Lighthouse.[11]

Verbinski returned in 2001 with the action/comedy The Mexican, starring Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. 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 that year, temporarily taking over for an exhausted Simon Wells.[12] Verbinski directed some of the underground Morlock sequences[citation needed] 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, whom he has since collaborated with on several other movies. His next film was The Weather Man, which starred Nicolas Cage. 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.[13] Verbinski was also set to direct a film for Universal based on the video game BioShock.[14] However, budgetary and creative disputes stemming from Verbinski's wish to incorporate a functioning underwater rail transport system, driven by his noted fascination with trains, derailed development. Verbinski was then replaced by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo as director and the film was subsequently cancelled.[15]

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. 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,[16][17] and gained controversy for the casting of Johnny Depp as the Native American Tonto. The film grossed $260 million against a $215–225 million budget, plus an estimated $150–160 million marketing campaign.[16] That same year, he was also the executive producer of the Ben Stiller adaptation of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, after having initially been attached in 2010 to direct the film himself.[18]

In 2012, Verbinski announced three films in development at Blind Wink; the Western Bitterroot, the sci-fi film Spaceless, and a live action film based on the board game Clue. At various points, he was attached to direct all three films, before eventually opting to produce instead.[19]

In 2016, Verbinski's horror film A Cure for Wellness starring Dane DeHaan and Mia Goth premiered at the Alamo Drafthouse before receiving a wide release in 2017.[20] It received mediocre reviews from critics and was a financial bomb, grossing $26.6 million against a $40 million budget.[21] Verbinski was set to next direct a film centering around the character Gambit, within the X-Men film universe, before dropping out of the project in January 2018.[22]

In the 2020s, he was seeking financial backing for Cattywumpus, an animated feature about cats in outer space, after being in the works at Netflix.[23]

Other projects

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Verbinski was involved with Matter, an original futuristic videogame that was being developed for the Xbox 360 using Kinect. Announced at E3 2012, Verbinski later confirmed that the game is now cancelled.

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes
1996 The Ritual Yes Yes Yes Short film
1997 Mouse Hunt Yes No No
2001 The Mexican Yes No No
2002 The Ring Yes No No
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Yes No No
2005 The Weather Man Yes No No
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Yes No No
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Yes No No
2011 Rango Yes Yes Story Also voice of the character Sergeant Turley
2013 The Lone Ranger Yes Yes No
2016 A Cure for Wellness Yes Yes Story
2025 Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die Yes Yes No Filming

Executive producer

Music videos

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Year Title Artist
1989 "S&M Airlines" NOFX
1990 "Don't Wait for Me" Vicious Rumors
1990 "Fast and Frightening" L7
1991 "Children" Vicious Rumors
1992 "Stuntman" 24-7 Spyz
"Atomic Garden" Bad Religion
1993 "American Jesus"
1994 "21st Century (Digital Boy)"
"Stranger than Fiction"
1995 "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" Monster Magnet
2004 "Born Too Slow" The Crystal Method

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Academy Awards 2012 Best Animated Feature Rango Won [24]
Amanda Awards 2004 Best Foreign Feature Film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Nominated [25]
Annie Awards 2012 Outstanding Directing Rango Nominated [26]
Outstanding Writing Won
BAFTA Awards 2012 Best Animated Film Won [27]
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Awards 1995 Silver Lion Budweiser: "Frogs" Won [28]
Golden Globe Awards 2012 Best Animated Feature Film Rango Nominated [29]
Golden Raspberry Awards 2014 Worst Director The Lone Ranger Nominated [30]
Hollywood Film Awards 2003 Movie of the Year Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Won [31]
2011 Animation of the Year Rango Won [32]
Hugo Awards 2004 Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Nominated [33]
Producers Guild of America Awards 2012 Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures Rango Nominated [34]
Saturn Awards 2004 Best Director Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Nominated [35]
Year Film Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards
Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 5 5 1 1
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 4 1 5 1 1
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2 1
2011 Rango 1 1 1 1 1
2013 The Lone Ranger 2
Total 15 2 12 3 3 0

References

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  1. ^ a b Cinema Odeon – Pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Odeonline.it (March 1, 1964). Retrieved on May 31, 2011.
  2. ^ Victor Vincent Verbinski Retrieved on September 29, 2017.
  3. ^ Gazeta Wyborcza – internetowe wydanie. Wyborcza.pl (October 3, 1928). Retrieved on 2011-05-31.
  4. ^ Directing Blockbusters: The Story of Gore Verbinski, John Doe, Example Press, 2022, ISBN 978-1234567890.
  5. ^ "Ad world's hottest prod'n pros". Variety. April 22, 1994. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Petrikin, Chris (March 30, 1998). "Verbinski reaches for NL's 'Sky'". Variety. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  7. ^ Cox, Dan; Petrikin, Chris (October 2, 1998). "Verbinski to helm Mouse's 'Mars'". Variety. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  8. ^ Cox, Dan (February 16, 1999). "U and Hanks going 'Wild'". Variety. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  9. ^ Hindes, Andrew (June 24, 1999). "Inside Moves". Variety. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Petrikin, Chris (September 27, 1999). "Fox taps 'Princess' scribe". Variety. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  11. ^ Petrikin, Chris (August 4, 1998). "Gerber nabs 'Lighthouse'". Variety. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  12. ^ "Time Machine director bows out". The Guardian. May 11, 2001. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Graser, Marc (August 4, 2008). "Verbinski inks first-look deal at U". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Fritz, Ben; Fleming, Michael (May 9, 2008). "Gore Verbinski to direct 'Bioshock'". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. ^ Robinson, Martin (March 12, 2013). "Ken Levine personally killed off the BioShock film – here's why". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Graser, Marc (June 25, 2013). "Disney, Bruckheimer See 'Lone Ranger' as New Genre-Bending Superhero". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2013. The picture cost approximately $250 million to produce, and more than $150 million to market and distribute around the globe ... Pre-production was halted until the filmmakers could wrangle the cost down to a more manageable $215 million ... Despite all the strife over the budget, the ultimate cost of "The Lone Ranger" ballooned during production. Bruckheimer says he and Disney were responsible for covering the film's overages. Studio reps say the pic cost around $225 million, but sources say it was considerably higher.
  17. ^ Karger, Dave (August 13, 2011). "Disney halts Johnny Depp's 'Lone Ranger'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "Gore Verbinski to Direct 'Secret Life of Walter Mitty' Remake". The Wrap. June 29, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  19. ^ Taylor, Drew (February 14, 2012). "Gore Verbinski Updates Us On 'The Lone Ranger,' Cary Fukunaga's 'Spaceless,' Chris Milk's 'Bitterroot' & More". IndieWire. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  20. ^ Leydon, Joe (December 13, 2016). "Harry Knowles' Annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon Teases 'Logan,' 'A Cure for Wellness'". Yahoo News. Variety. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "A Cure for Wellness". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  22. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 11, 2018). "Gore Verbinski Pulls Off Of 'Gambit' Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  23. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 1, 2022). "Gore Verbinski Animated Pic 'Cattywumpus' To Be Shopped After Being In Works At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  24. ^ "The 84th Academy Awards | 2012". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 7, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  25. ^ Bugge, Gunnhild (June 29, 2004). "Amanda-nominasjonene klare". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  26. ^ "The 39th Annie Awards | 2012". ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  27. ^ "The 65th British Academy Film Awards | 2012". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  28. ^ Shontell, Alyson (January 18, 2011). "The 10 Best Award-Winning TV Ads Everyone Must See". Business Insider. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  29. ^ "Rango | Golden Globes". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  30. ^ Trumbore, Dave (January 15, 2014). "2014 Razzie Nominations Include The Lone Ranger, After Earth, Grown Ups 2 and Movie 43". Collider. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  31. ^ "2003 Hollywood Film Festival". Hollywood Film Awards. October 21, 2003. Archived from the original on December 4, 2003. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  32. ^ "2011 Hollywood Film Festival winners are: "Dorfman," "The World of Z," and "Clear Blue"". Hollywood Film Festival. October 26, 2011. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  33. ^ "2004 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. July 24, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  34. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 21, 2012). "Producers Guild Awards Name 'The Artist' Motion Picture of Year; 'Boardwalk Empire' Scores TV Drama (Winners List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  35. ^ "The 30th Saturn Awards | 2004". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
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