Gus Van Sant - Biography

Last Editor: czerwinskiv				Gus Van Sant Biography -   Name : Gus Van Sant Profession : Writer/Director Birth Details : born July 24, 1952 in Louisville, Kentucky Personal quotes : When asked "Why in the hell would you want to do a shot-by-shot remake of Psycho in color?" He serenely replied "So no one else would have Trade mark : Frequently casts Matt Dillon, Keanu Reeves, Grace Zabriskie and James Remar

Gus Van Sant Trivia -

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 Red Hot Chilli Peppers' "under the bridge" music video Director of Hanson's music video "Weird" and recently asked Hanson to produce a song for his next movie. In 1992 received the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) of Oregon's 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 don't often get a glimpse at." In addition to being a successful film director Gus Van Sant is also a published author (his first novel 'Pink' was published in 1997), a musician (2 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 (1993) 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 Phoenix's death. Often casts Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea in small or cameo roles in his films. His 1997 film Good Will Hunting (1997) is parodied in the 2001 Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). Has directed 3 of the 5 Phoenix siblings in his movies. River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho (1991), Rain Phoenix in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) and Joaquin Phoenix in To Die For (1995).

Gus Van Sant Detailed Biography -

Gus Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American film director, photographer, musician, and author. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon. His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. Van Sant is openly gay, and many of his movies include gay themes or characters. Some of the movies he has written or directed include an adaptation of Tom Robbins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which featured a diverse cast (Keanu Reeves, Roseanne Barr, Uma Thurman, k.d. lang, and cameos by William S Burroughs and Heather Graham, among others); My Own Private Idaho also starred Reeves as well as the late River Phoenix. As an actor, Van Sant has appeared in a cameo on screen in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. He has written the screenplays for most of his early movies, and has written one novel, Pink (ISBN 0385493533). A book of his photography has also been published called 108 Portraits (ISBN 0944092225). As a musician, Van Sant has released two albums: Gus Van Sant and 18 Songs About Golf. Academy Award nomination for Best Director in 1998 for Good Will Hunting Cannes Film Festival in 2003 for Elephant Best Director Palme d'Or