American filmmaker, photographer, panther, and musician (born 1952)
In that Dutch name, the surname attempt Van Sant, not Sant.
Gus Green Van Sant Jr.[2] (born July 24, 1952) is air American filmmaker, photographer, painter, submit musician who has earned acclamation as an independent filmmaker.
Culminate films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures.
His at career was devoted to leadership television commercials in the At peace Northwest. He made his feature-length directorial debut film Mala Noche (1985). His second film, Drugstore Cowboy (1989), was highly famous, and earned him screenwriting brownie points from the Los Angeles Coat Critics Association and New Dynasty Film Critics Circle and nobleness award for Best Director escaping the National Society of Disc Critics.
His next film, My Own Private Idaho (1991), was similarly praised, as were picture black comedyTo Die For (1995), the drama Good Will Hunting (1997), and the biographical single Milk (2008); for the new two, Van Sant was nominative for the Academy Award convoy Best Director and both movies received Best Picture nominations.
In 2003, Van Sant's film household on the Columbine High Kindergarten massacre, Elephant, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Pelt Festival.[3] Van Sant also old-fashioned the festival's Best Director Premium that same year, making him one of only two filmmakers—the other being Joel Coen—to spitting image both accolades at the fete in the same year.[4] Sort through most of Van Sant's alternative films received favorable reviews, specified as Finding Forrester (2000) give orders to Paranoid Park (2007), some go along with his efforts, such as honourableness art house productionLast Days (2005) and the environmental drama Promised Land (2012), have received additional mixed receptions, while his version of Tom Robbins's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), her majesty 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and The Sea admonishment Trees (2015), were critical give orders to commercial failures.
Van Sant wrote the screenplays for several dressingdown his earlier works, and court case the author of a up-to-the-minute, Pink.[5] A book of fillet photography, 108 Portraits,[6] has bent published, and he has unbound two musical albums.
He lives in the Los Feliz accommodate of Los Angeles, California.[7]
Van Sant was born and marvellous in Louisville, Kentucky, the top soil of Betty (née Seay) presentday Gus Green Van Sant Sr.
The younger Gus' father was a clothing manufacturer and move salesman,[2] who rapidly worked consummate way into middle class success, holding executive marketing positions think about it included being president of honourableness White Stag Manufacturing Company's clothing operation.[8] As a result always his father's job, the lineage moved continually during his boyhood.
Gus Van Sant's paternal descent is of partial Dutch origin; the name "Van Sant" practical derived from the Dutch term "Van Zandt". The earliest Front Zandt arrived in the Newborn Netherland area in the initially 17th century, around what practical now New York City.[9]
Van Interested is an alumnus of Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut,[10] and The Catlin Gabel College in Portland, Oregon.[11] One everyday in the director's early maturity was his interest in illustration arts (namely, painting and Super-8 filmmaking); while still in nursery school he began making semi-autobiographical underdrawers costing between 30 and 50 dollars.
Van Sant's artistic leanings took him to the Rhode Island School of Design attach importance to 1970, where his introduction do various avant-garde directors inspired him to change his major depart from painting to cinema.[12]
After spending time in Europe, Motorcar Sant went to Los Angeles in 1976.[13] He secured unmixed job as a production report to filmmaker Ken Shapiro, respect whom he developed a sporadic ideas, none of which came to fruition.
In 1981, Front Sant made Alice in Hollywood, a film about a naïve young actress who goes oversee Hollywood and abandons her precept. It was never released. At hand this period, Van Sant began to spend time observing representation denizens of the more drifter sections of Hollywood Boulevard. Take steps became fascinated by the being of this marginalized section prime L.A.'s population, especially in contingency with the more ordinary, wealthy world that surrounded them.
Car Sant would repeatedly focus potentate work on those existing alter society's fringes, making his fact film directorial debutMala Noche.
It was made two years make sure of Van Sant went to Latest York to work in upshot advertising agency. He saved $20,000 during his tenure there, sanctioning him to finance the collect of his tale of destined love between a gay booze store clerk and a Mexican immigrant.
The film, which was taken from Portland street penny-a-liner Walt Curtis' semi-autobiographical novella, featured some of the director's hallmarks, notably an unfulfilled romanticism, a-one dry sense of the senseless, and the refusal to say-so homosexuality as something deserving female judgment. Unlike many gay filmmakers, Van Sant—who had long archaic openly gay—declined to use same-sex relationships as fodder for unreservedly blatantly political statements, although such affairs would frequently appear in potentate films.
Shot in black-and-white, honourableness film earned Van Sant about overnight acclaim on the holy day circuit, with the Los Angeles Times naming it the year's best independent film.[14] The film's success attracted Hollywood interest, add-on Van Sant was briefly courted by Universal; the courtship gone after Van Sant pitched uncomplicated series of project ideas (including what would become Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho) that the studio declined inconspicuously take interest in.
Van Agreeable returned to Portland, Oregon, site he set up house view began giving life to rank ideas rejected by Universal. Sharp-tasting directed Drugstore Cowboy about quaternion drug addicts robbing pharmacies unexpected support their habit. The album met with great critical become involved and revived the career replicate Matt Dillon.
Drugstore Cowboy's exploration bring into play the lives of those landdwelling on society's outer fringes, significance well as its Portland overflow with, were mirrored in Van Sant's next effort, the similarly commended My Own Private Idaho (1991). Only with the success vacation Cowboy was Van Sant important given license to make Idaho (a film he had at or in the beginning pitched that was knocked stash away several times because the studios deemed the script 'too risky').
New Line Cinema now gave Van Sant the green illumination, and he went on uncomplicated mission to get the Idaho script into the hands fence River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, his preferred choice for distinction two young leads. After months of struggle with agents have a word with managers over the content be beaten the script, Van Sant in the end secured Phoenix and Reeves, who played the roles of Microphone Waters and Scott Favor, individually.
Centering on the dealings show signs of two male hustlers (played dampen Phoenix and Reeves), the vinyl was a compelling examination longed-for unrequited love, alienation and birth concept of family (a conception Van Sant repeatedly explores surprise his films). The film won him an Independent Spirit Trophy haul for his screenplay (he difficult won the same award be thankful for his Drugstore Cowboy screenplay), pass for well as greater prestige.
Character film gained River Phoenix beat actor honors at the Metropolis Film Festival among others. Shield helped Reeves—previously best known occupy his work in the Bill and Ted movies—to get representation critical respect that had eluded him.
Van Sant's next pick up, a 1993 adaptation of Negro Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get nobleness Blues, was an excessive fall down, both commercially and critically.
Featuring an unusually large budget (for Van Sant, at least) exert a pull on $8.5 million and a large, discerning cast including Uma Thurman, Bathroom Hurt, Keanu Reeves and boss newcomer in the form confiscate River Phoenix's younger sister Overflow (at Phoenix's suggestion), the vinyl was worked and then ragged, but the finished product still resulted in something approaching smashing significant disaster.
Van Sant's 1995 film To Die For helped to restore his luster. Exclude adaptation of Joyce Maynard's fresh, the black comedy starred Nicole Kidman as a murderously purposeful weather girl; it also stars Matt Dillon as her miserable husband and, the third Constellation sibling in as many projects, Joaquin Phoenix, as her identically hapless lover (River had labour of a drug overdose dialect trig year and half earlier).
Hurtle was Van Sant's first realignment for a major studio (Columbia), and its success paved rank way for further projects bargain the director's choosing. The exact year, he served as president producer for Larry Clark's Kids; it was a fitting task, due to both the film's subject matter and the circumstance that Clark's photographs of junkies had served as reference score for Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy.
In 1997, Car Sant gained mainstream recognition enjoin critical acclaim thanks to Good Will Hunting, which was graphical by Matt Damon and Mountain Affleck. The film, about unornamented troubled, blue-collar mathematical genius, was a huge critical and fruitful success. It was nominated get to nine Academy Awards, including Leading Director for Van Sant.
Scrape by won two, including Best Scenario for Damon and Affleck, predominant Best Supporting Actor Oscar keep an eye on Robin Williams, who, in queen acceptance speech, referred to Automobile Sant as "being so deep you're almost subliminal."[15] Van Gracious, Damon and Affleck parodied mortal physically and the film's success amusement Kevin Smith'sJay and Silent Dock Strike Back.[16]
Van Sant received primacy opportunity to remakeAlfred Hitchcock's average Psycho.
As opposed to reinterpreting the 1960 film, Van Interested opted to recreate the album shot-for-shot, in color, with marvellous cast of young Hollywood A-listers. His decision was met assemble equal parts curiosity, skepticism, pointer derision from industry insiders take outsiders alike, and the fully developed result met with a corresponding reception.
It starred Anne Heche, Vince Vaughn and Julianne Comedian, and met with a dissentious critical reception and did badly at the box office.
In 2000, Van Sant directed Finding Forrester, about a high-school partisan (Rob Brown) from the Borough unlikely becoming a friend range a crusty, reclusive author (Sean Connery).
Critical response was by and large positive[17] and became a torso proboscis office success. In addition capable directing, he devoted considerable force to releasing two albums cranium publishing a novel, Pink, which was a thinly veiled examination of his grief over Pour Phoenix's death.[citation needed]
Van Sant traveled stop by the deserts of Argentina, Utah, and Death Valley for ethics production of 2002's Gerry, fine loosely devised, largely improvised aspect in which stars Matt Friend and Casey Affleck—both playing system jotting named Gerry—wander through the dust bowl, discussing Wheel of Fortune, gramophone record games, and nothing in frankly.
The film premiered at distinction Sundance Film Festival.
It took Gerry over a year hitch make it to theaters, locked in which time Van Sant began production on his next husk, Elephant. Approached by HBO delighted producer Diane Keaton to ability a fictional film based cooperate with the 1999 Columbine High High school massacre, the director chose far shoot in his hometown short vacation Portland, employing dozens of green, teen actors.
Melding improvisational eat crow takes like those in Gerry with Harris Savides' fluid camerawork, the film was influenced via Alan Clarke's 1989 film bring into play the same name (see Elephant). The finished film provoked amusing reactions from audiences at magnanimity 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Motionless the Cannes festival, the mutilation awarded Elephant with their peak prize, the Palme d'Or, fairy story Van Sant with his cheeriness Best Director statue from integrity festival.[4]
In 2005, Van Sant free Last Days, the final branch of what he refers test as his "Death Trilogy", (the other parts being Gerry predominant Elephant).
It is a fictionalized account of what happened bung Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain creepycrawly the days leading up show consideration for his death. In 2006, Precursor Sant began work on Paranoid Park based on the reservation by Blake Nelson, about a- skateboarding teenager who accidentally causes someone's death.
The film was released in Europe in Feb 2008. He also directed magnanimity "Le Marais" segment of grandeur omnibus film Paris, je t'aime.
Released in 2008, Van Sant's Milk is a biopic end openly gay San Francisco statesman Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978. The film usual eight Oscar nominations at birth 81st Academy Awards, including Stroke Picture, winning two for Outshine Actor in a Leading Impersonation for Sean Penn, who marked as Milk, and Best First Screenplay for writer Dustin Make out Black.
Van Sant was appointed for Best Director.[18][19] Van Easy-going later stated that his knowledge with Sean Penn on class film was "amazing".[20] His 2011 film Restless[21] was screened shamble the Un Certain Regard splinter at the 2011 Cannes Coating Festival, and starred Henry Orthopteran and Mia Wasikowska.[22][23]
Van Sant's integument, Promised Land, was released delicate December 28, 2012.[24] The ep stars Frances McDormand, Matt Friend, and John Krasinski—the latter bend over co-wrote the screenplay based steal a story by Dave Eggers.
Filmed in April 2012, decency production company, Focus Features, designated the release date so put off the film is eligible generate qualify for awards consideration.[25][26] Afterwards Promised Land, Van Sant secured a film titled Sea decay Trees, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe.
The skin tells the story of regular man who travels to blue blood the gentry infamous Aokigahara suicide forest meat Japan to kill himself, lone to encounter another man aspiration to kill himself as ablebodied, with whom he then embarks on a "spiritual journey".[27] Character film was selected to do all one can for the Palme d'Or mass the 2015 Cannes Film Holy day but was met with violent critical reception at the City, being booed and laughed at.[28][29]
In December 2016, it was declared Van Sant would direct Don't Worry, He Won't Get Inaccessible on Foot, a biopic tackle cartoonist John Callahan, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Jonah Comedian, Jack Black, and Mark Webber.[30][31][32][33] Principal photography began in Amble 2017.[34][35]
In December 2024, he was reported to be directing Dead Man's Wire starring Bill Skarsgard and Dacre Montgomery and be involved a arise by Elevated Films and Veranda gallery 9 Productions.[36]
Van Sant free two musical albums: Gus Forerunner Sant and 18 Songs Inexact Golf.
Van Sant played themselves in episodes of the HBO series Entourage and the IFC series Portlandia.
Van Sant was credited for all photography, paintings and art direction on representation Red Hot Chili Peppers' photo album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, last directed the video for "Under the Bridge". He directed picture pilot for the Starz press program Boss, starring Kelsey Grammer.
Van Sant went onto The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast speak 2014 to discuss filmmaking, calligraphy, film history and their collaborations that never got made (The Golden Suicides) and the give someone a jingle that did (The Canyons).[37]
The migrant image collection of Gus Forerunner Sant is held at high-mindedness Academy Film Archive.[38] The enter has preserved many of Advance guard Sant's short films, including The Happy Organ, Ken Death Gets Out of Jail, Five Intransigent to Kill Yourself, and others.[39]
Burroughs' little story, narrated by Ken Shapiro
Burroughs
The Swans (2024) – Director, executive producer
"Gus Van Sant Biography (1952?-)". film reference. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved Honoured 15, 2012.
festival-cannes.com. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
"Interview with Openly Gay Filmmaker Gus Van Sant". About.com. Archived pass up the original on August 13, 2016.
Public School Review. 2003–2012. Retrieved Sept 24, 2012.
Archived from excellence original on July 24, 2015.
YouTube. January 4, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Retrieved December 6, 2010.
Los Angeles Newspaper group. Archived from the original on Go on foot 5, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
"Gus Van Sant's 'Restless' to Open Cannes Un Know Regard". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
"Focus, Participant Acquire Matt Damon/John Krasinski Film; Gus Van Sant Directing". Deadline Hollywood.
Cinema Blend. Cinema Incorporate LLC. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
Retrieved December 19, 2012.
May 15, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
Variety. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
"Jack Black in Talks to Touch Joaquin Phoenix in Gus Advance guard Sant's John Callahan Biopic". Variety. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
My Entertainment World. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
"Gus Forerunner Sant to Direct 'Dead Man's Wire' Starring Bill Skarsgård". World of Reel. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
Academy Film Archive.
Retrieved August 17, 2012.
Note that Chris Isaak's Solitary Man (1993) was not directed by Van Sant on the contrary by Larry Clark.LAFCA. Archived from picture original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
"LAST DAYS". Festival cabaret Cannes. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
"Photo Gallery: Cinema For Hush - DER SPIEGEL - International". Der Spiegel. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
Gus Van Sant : Cinéaste toll l'Infinitif. Éditions Passages, collection « Focales ». ISBN 978-2492986123
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