Gus Van Sant
Rate Person

Gus Van Sant

Directing

Biography

Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Achievement in Directing for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, and won the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for his film Elephant. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. In his films, he has dealt with themes concerning homosexuality and other marginalized subcultures.

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 River Phoenix.

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.

Films Featuring Gus Van Sant

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

20016.4

Made in the USA

19932.0

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

20106.5

Guns on the Clackamas

19956.0

The Canyons

20134.4

The Advocate for Fagdom

20116.0

Strange Parallel

19986.4

The Trainer

20246.8

Here’s Looking at You, Boy

20075.2

In the Mood for Doyle

20074.0

Finding Forrester

20007.1

On the Set of 'Elephant': Rolling Through Time

200410.0

Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open

20237.6

Zeroville

20195.0

Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible

20166.0

About Elephant

2003

At the Video Store

201910.0

About Cinema

20158.2

I Don't Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman

20156.7

Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

20065.4

Saltlake Van Sant

20038.0

Psycho Path

19997.2

A Special Day

20125.3

Thank You for Supporting the Arts

2018

Junior

1988

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot

20186.7

Mala Noche

19876.1

My Own Private Idaho

19917.0

Psycho

19985.1

Last Days

20055.6

Paranoid Park

20076.5

The Making of Last Days

2004

Five Ways to Kill Yourself

19873.3

Critic

20087.9

The Making of Drugstore Cowboy

1999

Making Paranoid Park

2008

Drugstore Cowboy

19897.1

Illegal Civilization 3

20185.0

Rescued from the Closet

20016.5

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Funky Monks

19917.1

Reflecting on a Journey: Good Will Hunting 15 Years Later

2012

The Director's Vision: Hollywood's Best Discuss Their Craft

1998

Andy by Gus

2023

Nightmare Typhoon

Nightmare Typhoon

Two Films, One Legacy

2011

Ain't It Funny

2017