Gregor Verbinski (born March 16, 1964), is a movie director and writer of Polish descent.

Although most associate Verbinski with feature films, he started his career directing music videos for bands like Bad Religion and Monster Magnet working at Palomar Pictures. This was not surprising to his friends in LA, since he also played music for an obscure punk band called "The Little Kings," produced by famed underground tattoo artist Marc "Rude" Hoffman. During this period, 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 with his comedy flick, Mouse Hunt. The film was a hit globally and he soon followed up the success 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 only $68 million dollars domestically despite its star power (it was technically successful due to its moderately low $38 million dollar budget). Verbinski followed it up with the Japanese horror film remake The Ring (2002), which struck gold globally, grossing well over $200 million dollars worldwide.

However his biggest success came with the 2003 surprise hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which earned over $600 million at the international box office and was responsible for reinvigorating Johnny Depp's career.

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 3.

Verbinski graduated with his BFA in Film from UCLA in 1987.

Gregor Verbinski

Trivia

Height -  6' 1" (1.85 m)

Winner of 4 Clio Awards and one Cannes advertising Silver Lion.

Creator of the Budwieser frogs.

Was guitarist of punk band, The Daredevils, with Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion and Josh Freese of The Vandals.

Was guitarist in punk band, Little Kings.

Was brought in to take over the last 18 days of shooting on The Time Machine (2002), as director Simon Wells was suffering from "extreme exhaustion". Wells returned for post-production.

Ranked #79 on Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. It is his first appearance on the list.

His Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) holds many box office distinctions, such as: highest opening weekend of all time ($135.6M), fastest film to reach $100M (in just two days), most tickets sold in a single day ($55.8M worth), and largest sum earned in seven days ($196M total and counting). The blockbuster sequel also reached $200M in eight days, tying the industry record.

Director - filmography

(In Production) (2000s) (1990s)

1. Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (2007) (filming)
   
   

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

3. The Weather Man (2005)

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

5. The Ring (2002)

6. The Mexican (2001)
   ... aka Mexicana, La (Mexico)

7. Mousehunt (1997)

8. The Ritual (1996)
   
   

Miscellaneous Crew - filmography

1. The Time Machine (2002) (special thanks)
   
   

Writer - filmography

1. The Ritual (1996)
   

Himself - filmography

1. "American Morning"
       - Episode dated 30 June 2006 (2006) TV Episode .... Himself

2. Trade Winds: The Collaboration (2006) (V) .... Himself

3. Relative Humidity: The Characters (2006) (V) .... Himself

4. Atmospheric Pressure: The Style and Palette (2006) (V) .... Himself

5. Extended Outlook: The Script (2006) (V) .... Himself

6. Forecast: Becoming a Weatherman (2006) (V) .... Himself

7. An Epic at Sea: The Making of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003) (V) .... Himself

8. "HBO First Look"
       - The Making of 'The Mexican' (2001) TV Episode .... Himself
       - The Mexican (2001) TV Episode .... Himself

LINKS

• Gore Verbinski at the Internet Movie Database

• Jerry Bruckheimer at the Internet Movie Database

• Interview, 1/12/06, LIFETEEN.com

• Bruckheimer has a Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream IV tail number N477JB.de:Jerry Bruckheimer

A - Z FILMS INDEX

A - Z ACTORS INDEX

A taste for adventure capitalists

Solar Cola - a healthier alternative

This website is Copyright © 1999 & 2006  NJK.   The bird logo and name Solar Navigator and Solar Cola are trademarks. All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged.       Max Energy Limited is an educational charity.

AUTOMOTIVE  | BLUEBIRD  |  ELECTRIC CARS  |  ELECTRIC CYCLES  |  SOLAR CARS