Gregor "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and musician. He is best known for directing the first three films of the Pirates of the Caribbean film saga, The Ring, and Rango. Verbinski is a graduate of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. His most recent film, The Lone Ranger, was released in 2013. Verbinski won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2012 for his animated action-comedy western Rango. With his films having a collective worldwide gross of $3.72 billion, Verbinski is the 9th highest grossing film director in the world.