Misplaced Pages

#545454

55-641: 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 . Verbinski was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee , the fourth of five children of Laurette Ann (née McGovern) and Victor Vincent Verbinski,

110-405: A buyout for the string factory, but he remembers he promised his father to never sell it, and refuses. Lars' gold digger wife April furiously kicks him out. With nowhere else to go, the brothers spend the night in the mansion. The brothers cannot sleep due to noises caused by a mouse, and while investigating find blueprints of the property. The blueprints reveal the mansion was the final design of

165-504: A cursed videotape that causes whoever views it to die in one week. That night, Katie, who viewed it one week ago, is killed by an unseen force. At Katie's funeral, her mother asks her sister Rachel, a Seattle-based journalist, to investigate her daughter's death. Rachel discovers that Katie's friends all died in bizarre accidents at the same time as Katie's death. Rachel visits the Shelter Mountain Inn, where Katie and her friends saw

220-413: A famous architect, Charles Lyle LaRue, and it would be worth a fortune if restored. The brothers decide to renovate and auction the mansion to recover their lives. Ernie, fearing a repeat of the cockroach incident, convinces Lars they must also get rid of the mouse. Conventional methods fail when the mouse demonstrates itself to be exceptionally intelligent. The brothers resort to extreme measures to remove

275-419: A film for Universal based on the video game BioShock . 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. In 2011 and 2013, Verbinski would delve into

330-461: A final gross of $ 61,917,389 in the North American market and $ 60,500,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $ 122,417,389. Mouse Hunt received mixed reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 44% of 33 critics had given the film a positive review. The critics consensus reads: " Mouse Hunt gets trapped under the weight of its excessive slapstick antics." On Metacritic ,

385-458: A girl, Samara, who possessed the ability to psychically etch images onto objects and into people's minds, tormenting her parents and their horses. Noah finds a psychiatric file on Samara that mentions a terrifying video record last seen by Richard. Returning to the Morgan home, Rachel finds a fake birth certificate proving that Samara is not the biological child of Richard and Anna. She also discovers

440-504: A nuclear physicist. His father was of Polish descent. 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. Verbinski was active in several L.A. rock bands early in his career. He played guitar in

495-524: 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, 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

550-455: A well beneath the floorboards. Rachel falls inside and experiences a vision of Anna dumping Samara into the well, where she survived for one week. Samara's body surfaces from the water. After Rachel is rescued, they arrange a proper burial for Samara. Back home, Aidan warns Rachel that it was a mistake to help Samara. Rachel realizes that Noah's week is up; Samara's ghost crawls out of his TV screen and kills him. Initially unable to deduce why she

605-471: A woman on the tape: horse breeder Anna Morgan, who committed suicide after some of her horses drowned themselves off Moesko Island. Rachel and Noah's 8-year-old son Aidan watches the tape. Aidan also possesses supernatural abilities, which he uses to help with Rachel's investigation. Rachel heads for Moesko Island to speak to Anna's widower Richard, while Noah travels to Gale Psychiatric Hospital to view Anna's medical files. Rachel discovers that Anna had adopted

SECTION 10

#1732858174546

660-497: Is a remake of Hideo Nakata 's 1998 film Ring , based on the 1991 novel by Koji Suzuki . The Ring was theatrically released in the United States on October 18, 2002, by DreamWorks Pictures . It was a box-office success, grossing $ 249.3 million worldwide on a $ 48 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing horror remakes of all time. The Ring received mixed-to-positive reviews, with critics in particular praising

715-455: Is composed by Hans Zimmer, Henning Lohner and Martin Tillman To advertise The Ring , many promotional websites were formed featuring characters and places in the film. The video from the cursed videotape was played in late-night programming over the summer of 2002 without any reference to the film. Physical VHS copies were also randomly distributed outside of movie theaters by placing

770-567: 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

825-410: Is hit by a bus. The brothers return to the mansion and find it surrounded by emergency personnel, who received a mysterious 911 call of Caesar screaming from inside a trunk. The brothers chase the mouse with a shotgun and accidentally ignite a bug bomb Caesar had dropped, blowing a massive hole in the floor. Lars overhears Zeppco on the answering machine, revealing Ernie's plans, and the two argue with

880-571: 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

935-457: The "Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade", with the article saying that " The Ring was not only the first American 'J-horror' remake out of the gate; it also still stands as the best". A sequel, titled The Ring Two , was released on March 18, 2005. A short film , titled Rings , was also released in 2005, and is set between The Ring and The Ring Two . A third installment, also titled Rings ,

990-563: 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". 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

1045-534: The Native American Tonto . 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 adaptation of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , after having initially been attached in 2010 to direct the film himself. In 2012, Verbinski announced three films in development at Blind Wink;

1100-563: 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. 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. It received mediocre reviews from critics and

1155-472: 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, and gained controversy for the casting of Johnny Depp as

SECTION 20

#1732858174546

1210-472: The Wild Things Are , The Big Ticket , The Light Princess and an unpublished manuscript by William Monahan titled The Lighthouse . 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

1265-664: The atmosphere and visuals, Bojan Bazelli 's cinematography, Verbinski's direction and the performances of the cast (particularly Watts). At the 29th Saturn Awards , the film won in two categories: Best Horror Film and Best Actress (for Watts). The film is the first installment of the American Ring series , and is followed by The Ring Two (2005) and Rings (2017). The success of The Ring inspired American remakes of several other Asian and Japanese horror films, including The Grudge (2004) and Dark Water (2005). Teenage girls Katie and Becca discuss an urban legend about

1320-417: The audience doesn't know who to laugh at, or with." His colleague Gene Siskel disagreed and liked the film. Regarding the digital special effects, Ebert deemed the film "an excellent example of the way modern advances in special effects can sabotage a picture ( Titanic is an example of effects being used wisely). Because it is possible to make a movie in which the mouse can do all sorts of clever things,

1375-666: The direction, some criticized the lack of character development. Jonathan Rosenaum from the Chicago Reader said that the film was "an utter waste of Watts ... perhaps because the script didn't bother to give her a character", whereas William Arnold from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer disagreed, claiming that she projects intelligence, determination and resourcefulness in the film. Several critics, like Miami Herald ' s Rene Rodriguez and USA Today ' s Claudia Puig, found themselves confused and thought "for all

1430-424: The family business to become a chef; he walks out of the reading of their father's will, taking a box of cigars. At Ernie's restaurant, a cockroach crawls out of the box of cigars and into a dish prepared for the mayor, causing him to have a fatal heart attack when he accidentally bites into it. Ernie's restaurant is shut down and he becomes homeless. Meanwhile, a cord company called Zeppco International offers Lars

1485-416: The film a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave The Ring an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. On Ebert & Roeper , Richard Roeper gave the film "Thumbs Up" and said it was very gripping and scary despite some minor unanswered questions. Roger Ebert gave the film "Thumbs Down" and felt it

1540-503: The film has a score of 54 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave the film two stars, calling it "not very funny, and maybe couldn't have been very funny no matter what, because the pieces for comedy are not in place... A comedy that hasn't assigned sympathy to some characters and made others hateful cannot expect to get many laughs, because

1595-457: The film's original 2002 theatrical run. It was released in 2005, accompanying The Ring ' s 2005 sequel in an album that combined music from both the first and second film . The soundtrack contains a few themes associated with the characters, moods and locations, including multiple uses of the Dies irae theme. The score makes use of string instruments , pianos and synthesizers . All music

1650-425: The film's visual style early, rather than relying on digital grading during post-production. The soft lighting was achieved by "diffusing the fill sources enough to match [the natural lighting]" through the use of up to three layers of shades, HMIs and CTB, and set up to create as little shadow as possible to "subconsciously alter the viewer's sense of perception and add a heightened sense of ambiguity." As with

1705-520: The filmmakers have assumed incorrectly that it would be funny to see the mouse doing them." The Ring (2002 film) The Ring is a 2002 American supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger . Starring Naomi Watts , Martin Henderson , David Dorfman , and Brian Cox , the film focuses on Rachel Keller (Watts), a journalist who discovers a cursed videotape that causes its viewers to die seven days later. It

Gore Verbinski - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-499: The first two weeks of its release. Worldwide, The Ring grossed a total of $ 249,348,933. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 210 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "With little gore and a lot of creepy visuals, The Ring gets under your skin, thanks to director Gore Verbinski's haunting sense of atmosphere and an impassioned performance from Naomi Watts". Metacritic assigned

1815-535: The missing video, in which Samara explains her powers during a therapy session. Richard insists that Samara is evil and commits suicide by electrocuting himself. Noah and Rachel find a loft in the barn, which the Morgans used to isolate Samara from themselves and the outside world. There is an image of a tree behind the wallpaper; Rachel recognizes it as a tree at the Shelter Mountain Inn. They return to Shelter Mountain Inn, led to

1870-493: The money. With their limited funds the brothers cannot pay their workers, causing them to go on strike . Ernie finds Zeppco's business card and arranges a meeting to secretly accept their buyout offer. Lars goes to the factory to manufacture enough string to pay off the mortgage and is met by April, who has learned of the mansion's value and takes Lars back, giving him the funds they need. Ernie's meeting with Zeppco's representatives goes awry when he attempts to impress some women and

1925-590: The mouse as their taste-tester for new cheese combinations. Mouse Hunt was released in North America on December 19, 1997 and opened in the #4 spot. The film was released in the United Kingdom on April 3, 1998, and opened at #2, behind Titanic . Mouse Hunt was released on VHS on May 5, 1998, and DVD on December 8, 1998, by DreamWorks Home Entertainment . It was released on Blu-ray on February 2, 2021, by Paramount Home Entertainment . The film

1980-431: The mouse on his podium as he speaks to the auctioneers. As the auction begins, the brothers try flushing the mouse out with a garden hose, filling an inner wall of the mansion with water until it bursts, washing the auctioneers out and causing the mansion to collapse. April leaves with a wealthy bidder and the brothers are left with nothing, but take solace that the mouse was surely killed in the collapse. The brothers spend

2035-399: The mouse watching. When Lars throws an orange at Ernie, he ducks and the mouse is struck and stunned, but is still alive. The brothers cannot bring themselves to kill it and mail it in a box addressed to Fidel Castro . The brothers reconcile and finish their renovations. The night of the auction , Lars discovers the postal box returned to the mansion and a hole chewed in it, while Ernie sees

2090-403: The mouse, including buying a monstrous Maine Coon cat named "Catzilla" and hiring an eccentric exterminator named Caesar; the mouse drops Catzilla in a dumbwaiter, and drags Caesar through the mansion using his truck's winch line. Ernie had borrowed against the mansion's mortgage to help pay for the renovations, and the bank informs them they will be evicted in two days unless they reimburse

2145-408: The night in the factory, unaware the mouse has survived and followed them. Seeing their sorry state, the mouse takes pity on them and activates the factory's machinery, dropping a block of cheese into the wax boiler to produce a ball of string cheese . Inspired, the brothers renovate the factory to produce string cheese and other cheese -based products. Lars runs the factory with Ernie as his chef, and

2200-474: The original Japanese film Ring , the title of The Ring can be interpreted as referring to the telephone call which warns those who watched the cursed tape that they will die in seven days, as well as to the view of the ring of light seen from the bottom of the well where Samara was left to die. The film features an original score composed by Hans Zimmer (who would later collaborate on Verbinski's other works). The soundtrack release did not coincide with

2255-402: The tape. She finds and views the tape; it contains strange and frightening imagery. She then receives a phone call from an unknown caller who whispers, "Seven days". Though initially skeptical, Rachel quickly begins to experience supernatural occurrences linked to the tape. Rachel recruits the help of her video analyst ex-husband Noah. He views the tape and Rachel makes him a copy. She identifies

Gore Verbinski - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-414: The tapes on the windshields of people's cars. The Ring opened theatrically on October 18, 2002 in the United States, on 1,981 screens, and grossed $ 15,015,393 during its opening weekend. The film went on to become a sleeper hit , leading DreamWorks to expand its release to 700 additional theaters. It ultimately grossed $ 129,128,133 in the United States. In Japan, the film earned $ 8.3 million in

2365-446: The time [the film] spends explaining, it still doesn't make much sense". The success of The Ring paved the way for American remakes of several other Asian and Japanese horror films, including The Grudge (2004), Dark Water (2005), Shutter and The Eye (both 2008). The Ring ranked number 20 on the cable channel Bravo 's list of The 100 Scariest Movie Moments . Bloody Disgusting ranked it sixth in their list of

2420-695: The wave of harsh criticism from hardcore fans of the original Japanese film as "inevitable", although he expressed desire for them to find the remake equally compelling. He also sought to retain the minimalism prevalent throughout Ring and set it in Seattle, due to its "wet and isolated" atmosphere. The Ring was filmed in 2001, primarily in the State of Washington in numerous locations, including Seattle, Port Townsend , Whidbey Island , Bellingham , Monroe and Stanwood . The Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport , Oregon ,

2475-544: 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

2530-620: Was a box office success, partially due to releasing during the Christmas and New Year's period. It grossed $ 6,062,922 in its opening weekend, averaging $ 2,817 from 2,152 theaters. In its second weekend, it stayed at #4 and increased by 60 percent, making $ 9,702,770, averaging $ 4,428 from 2,191 theaters, and bringing its 10-day gross to $ 21,505,569. In its third weekend, it once again stayed at #4 and dropped by only 13 percent, making $ 8,418,001, averaging $ 3,804 from 2,213 theaters, and bringing its 17-day gross to $ 40,021,527. It closed on July 1, 1998, with

2585-463: Was a commercial success, earning $ 125.4 million on the box office against a budget of $ 38 million. It has also grown a cult following in recent years. Mouse Hunt features one of William Hickey 's final roles. The film was dedicated to his memory. When the once-wealthy string magnate Rudolf Smuntz dies, he leaves his factory and an abandoned Victorian mansion to his two sons: the dutiful and optimistic Lars, and venal cynic Ernie, who has ignored

2640-504: Was a financial bomb, grossing $ 26.6 million against a $ 40 million budget. 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. 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 . Verbinski

2695-441: Was also used as a filming location, as well as Oregon's Columbia River Gorge . Chris Cooper played a murderer in two scenes meant to bookend the film, but was ultimately cut. The film's cinematography by Bojan Bazelli is noted for its soft lighting and grey blue-green color. Shot on film , the production is unusual for achieving its color correction in-camera using 81EF and one of two green filters, thereby committing to

2750-402: Was boring and "borderline ridiculous"; he also disliked the extended, detailed ending. Jeremy Conrad from IGN praised The Ring for its atmospheric set up and cinematography , and said that "there are disturbing images ... but the film doesn't really rely on gore to deliver the scares". Film Threat ' s Jim Agnew called it dark, disturbing and original. Despite the praise given to

2805-499: 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 , Mission to Mars , Where

SECTION 50

#1732858174546

2860-637: Was initially inspired to do a remake of Ring after Walter F. Parkes sent him a VHS copy of the Japanese film , which he described as "intriguing", "pulp" and " avant-garde ". The original WGA-approved credits listed Hiroshi Takahashi (writer of the original 1998 screenplay for Ring ) but his name is absent from the final print. Several high-profile actresses were offered the lead role , including Gwyneth Paltrow , Jennifer Connelly and Kate Beckinsale . Verbinski admitted to not wanting to cast " big stars " as he wanted his film to be "discovered" and described

2915-447: 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. Executive producer Mouse Hunt It was the first family film to be released by DreamWorks Pictures , who released it in the United States on December 19, 1997, to mixed reviews, but

2970-442: Was spared, Rachel realizes that the tape seen by Noah was a copy she had created. Rachel saves Aidan by having him make another copy to show someone else. Aidan asks what will happen to the person who views the copy, to which Rachel does not answer. The Ring went into production without a completed script . Ehren Kruger wrote three drafts of the screenplay before Scott Frank came on to do an uncredited re-write. Gore Verbinski

3025-470: 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 . Verbinski directed some of the underground Morlock sequences and

#545454