Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American film director, photographer, musician, and author. He was nominated for the Best Director Academy Award for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon.His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. Openly gay, he has dealt unflinchingly with homosexual and other marginalized subcultures without being particularly concerned about providing positive role models.His filmography as writer and director includes an adaptation of Tom Robbins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which features a diverse cast (Keanu Reeves, Roseanne Barr, Uma Thurman, and k.d. lang, with cameos by William S. Burroughs and Heather Graham, among others); and My Own Private Idaho, also starring Reeves as well as the late River Phoenix (Van Sant also planned to direct a biographical film about Andy Warhol with Phoenix in the lead role, but canceled the project after Phoenix's death). He is perhaps best known for directing Good Will Hunting.He wrote the screenplays for most of his early movies, and wrote one novel, Pink. A book of his photography has also been published, called 108 Portraits.
Graduate of Rhode Island School of Design.
Favorite director is Stanley Kubrick.
Is a member of a band, Destroy All Blondes.
Once worked as an assistant to Roger Corman.
Director of Hanson s music video "Weird" and asked Hanson to produce a song for his next movie.
In 1992 received the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) of Oregons Freedom of Expression Award, which recognizes courage or creative vision in upholding free expression, particularly in the arts, for his films that have, " let us see inside the lives of individuals we dont often get a glimpse at."
In addition to being a successful film director, Van Sant is also a published author (his first novel, "Pink", was published in 1997), a musician (two solo albums "Gus Van Sant" and "18 Songs About Golf" were released on the PopTones label in late 1997, plus his musical/spoken word collaboration with William S. Burroughs , "The Elvis Of Letters" was released in 1985 as the first album put out on the Tim Kerr record label), and a photographer (a large book of his photographs titled "108 Portraits" was published in 1992 and is now something of a collectors item.)
He dedicated both his 1993 film Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and his 1997 novel "Pink" to the late actor River Phoenix.
Van Sant had planned to make a film about artist Andy Warhol with River Phoenix starring as the young Warhol, but plans were scrapped after Phoenixs death.
Often casts Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea in small or cameo roles in his films.
His 1997 film Good Will Hunting is parodied in the 2001 Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back .
Cast 3 of the 5 Phoenix siblings in his movies. River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho , Rain Phoenix in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Joaquin Phoenix in To Die For .
Interviewed in "Directors Close Up: Interviews with Directors Nominated for Best Film by the Directors Guild of America", ed. by Jeremy Kagan , Scarecrow Press, 2006.
Elephant , the very first film he directed that was accepted into Cannes, won the festivals two most prestigious awards: the Palme dor and best director.
Was member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.
He has taught two classes at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, OR.
Directed 5 actors in Oscar nominated performances: Matt Damon , Robin Williams , Minnie Driver , Sean Penn , and Josh Brolin. Williams and Penn won Oscars for performances in one of his movies.
Part of me believes in anonymous art. I got that from a writer named,Jamake Highwater, who wrote about painting before the Renaissance. The,way people related to art in, say, ancient Greece. How it was about the,community for the community and not the self-expression of the artist.
because the films can fend for themselves and be seen by word of mouth.
[on going digital to produce no-budget movies outside of Hollywood],There was an expected style in making a movie, like a template, and to,deviate from it was highly suspect. You always made these,a-little-more-safe decisions because money was riding on it. I got,tired of it.
My art teacher in junior high was a very out gay man and a mentor to me.
