1982–1989: Early career After spending time in Europe, Van Sant went to
Los Angeles in 1976. He secured a job as a production assistant to filmmaker
Ken Shapiro, with whom he developed a few ideas, none of which came to fruition. In 1981, Van Sant made
Alice in Hollywood, a film about a naïve young actress who goes to Hollywood and abandons her ideals. It was never released. During this period, Van Sant began to spend time observing the denizens of the more down-and-out sections of
Hollywood Boulevard. He became fascinated by the existence of this marginalized section of L.A.'s population, especially in context with the more ordinary, prosperous world that surrounded them. Van Sant would repeatedly focus his work on those existing on society's fringes, making his feature film
directorial debut Mala Noche. It was made two years after Van Sant went to New York to work in an advertising agency. He saved $20,000 during his tenure there, enabling him to finance the majority of his tale of doomed love between a gay liquor store clerk and a Mexican immigrant. The film, which was taken from Portland street writer
Walt Curtis' semi-autobiographical novella, featured some of the director's hallmarks, notably an unfulfilled romanticism, a dry sense of the absurd, and the refusal to treat homosexuality as something deserving of judgment. Unlike many gay filmmakers, Van Sant—who had long been openly gay—declined to use same-sex relationships as fodder for overtly political statements, although such relationships would frequently appear in his films. Shot in black-and-white, the film earned Van Sant almost overnight acclaim on the festival circuit, with the
Los Angeles Times naming it the year's best
independent film. The film's success attracted Hollywood interest, and Van Sant was briefly courted by
Universal; the courtship ended after Van Sant pitched a series of project ideas (including what would become
Drugstore Cowboy and
My Own Private Idaho) that the studio declined to take interest in. Van Sant returned to Portland, Oregon, where he set up house and began giving life to the ideas rejected by Universal. He directed
Drugstore Cowboy about four drug addicts robbing pharmacies to support their habit. The film met with great critical success and revived the career of
Matt Dillon.
1990–1995: Indie and arthouse success Drugstore Cowboy's exploration of the lives of those living on society's outer fringes, as well as its Portland setting, were mirrored in Van Sant's next effort, the similarly acclaimed
My Own Private Idaho (1991). Only with the success of
Cowboy was Van Sant now given license to make
Idaho (a film he had originally pitched that was knocked back several times because the studios deemed the script 'too risky').
New Line Cinema now gave Van Sant the green light, and he went on a mission to get the
Idaho script into the hands of
River Phoenix and
Keanu Reeves, his preferred choice for the two young leads. After months of struggle with agents and managers over the content of the script, Van Sant finally secured Phoenix and Reeves, who played the roles of Mike Waters and Scott Favor, respectively. Centering on the dealings of two male hustlers (played by Phoenix and Reeves), the film was a compelling examination of unrequited love, alienation and the concept of family (a concept Van Sant repeatedly explores in his films). The film won him an
Independent Spirit Award for his screenplay (he had won the same award for his
Drugstore Cowboy screenplay), as well as greater prestige. The film gained River Phoenix best actor honors at the
Venice Film Festival among others. It helped Reeves—previously best known for his work in the
Bill and Ted movies—to get the critical respect that had eluded him. Van Sant's next film, a 1993
adaptation of
Tom Robbins'
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, was an excessive flop, both commercially and critically. Featuring an unusually large budget (for Van Sant, at least) of $8.5 million and a large, eclectic cast including
Uma Thurman,
John Hurt, Keanu Reeves and a newcomer in the form of River Phoenix's younger sister
Rain (at Phoenix's suggestion), the film was worked and then reworked, but the finished product nonetheless resulted in something approaching a significant disaster. Van Sant's 1995 film
To Die For helped to restore his luster. An adaptation of
Joyce Maynard's novel, the
black comedy starred
Nicole Kidman as a murderously ambitious weather girl; it also stars
Matt Dillon as her hapless husband and, the third Phoenix sibling in as many projects,
Joaquin Phoenix, as her equally hapless lover (River had died of a drug overdose a year and half earlier). It was Van Sant's first effort for a major studio (
Columbia), and its success paved the way for further projects of the director's choosing. The same year, he served as executive producer for
Larry Clark's
Kids; it was a fitting assignment, due to both the film's subject matter and the fact that Clark's photographs of junkies had served as reference points for Van Sant's
Drugstore Cowboy.
1997–2003: Mainstream breakout In 1997, Van Sant gained mainstream recognition and critical acclaim thanks to
Good Will Hunting, which was written by
Matt Damon and
Ben Affleck. The film, about a troubled, blue-collar mathematical genius, was a huge critical and commercial success. It was nominated for nine
Academy Awards, including Best Director for Van Sant. It won two, including Best Screenplay for Damon and Affleck, and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for
Robin Williams, who, in his acceptance speech, referred to Van Sant as "being so subtle you're almost subliminal." Van Sant, Damon and Affleck parodied themselves and the film's success in
Kevin Smith's
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Van Sant received the opportunity to
remake Alfred Hitchcock's classic
Psycho. As opposed to reinterpreting the 1960 film, Van Sant opted to recreate the film shot-for-shot, in color, with a cast of young Hollywood A-listers. His decision was met with equal parts curiosity, skepticism, and derision from industry insiders and outsiders alike, and the finished result met with a similar reception. It starred
Anne Heche,
Vince Vaughn and
Julianne Moore, and met with a negative critical reception and did
poorly at the box office. In 2000, Van Sant directed
Finding Forrester, about a high-school student (
Rob Brown) from
the Bronx unlikely becoming a friend of a crusty, reclusive author (
Sean Connery). Critical response was generally positive and became a box office success. In addition to directing, he devoted considerable energy to releasing two albums and publishing a novel,
Pink, which was a thinly veiled exploration of his grief over River Phoenix's death.
2003–present: Return to arthouse cinema at the press conference of ''
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot'' (Berlin Film Festival 2018)|left Van Sant traveled to the deserts of
Argentina,
Utah, and
Death Valley for the production of 2002's
Gerry, a loosely devised, largely improvised feature in which stars Matt Damon and
Casey Affleck—both playing characters named Gerry—wander through the desert, discussing
Wheel of Fortune, video games, and nothing in particular. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival. It took
Gerry over a year to make it to theaters, in which time Van Sant began production on his next film,
Elephant. Approached by
HBO and producer
Diane Keaton to craft a fictional film based on the 1999
Columbine High School massacre, the director chose to shoot in his hometown of Portland, employing dozens of untrained, teen actors. Melding improvisational long takes like those in
Gerry with
Harris Savides' fluid camerawork, the film was influenced by Alan Clarke's 1989 film of the same name (see
Elephant). The finished film provoked strong reactions from audiences at the
2003 Cannes Film Festival. At the
Cannes festival, the jury awarded
Elephant with their top prize, the
Palme d'Or, and Van Sant with his first Best Director statue from the festival. Van Sant later stated that his experience with Sean Penn on the film was "amazing". His 2011 film
Restless was screened in the
Un Certain Regard section at the
2011 Cannes Film Festival, and starred Henry Hopper and
Mia Wasikowska. Van Sant's film,
Promised Land, was released on December 28, 2012. The film stars
Frances McDormand, Matt Damon, and John Krasinski—the latter two co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by Dave Eggers. Filmed in April 2012, the production company, Focus Features, selected the release date so that the film is eligible to qualify for awards consideration. After
Promised Land, Van Sant directed a film titled
Sea of Trees, which starred
Matthew McConaughey and
Ken Watanabe. The film tells the story of a man who travels to the infamous
Aokigahara suicide forest in Japan to kill himself, only to encounter another man wishing to kill himself as well, with whom he then embarks on a "spiritual journey". The film was selected to compete for the
Palme d'Or at the
2015 Cannes Film Festival but was met with harsh critical reception at the Cannes, being booed and laughed at. In December 2016, it was announced Van Sant would direct ''
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot'', a biopic about cartoonist
John Callahan, starring
Joaquin Phoenix,
Rooney Mara,
Jonah Hill,
Jack Black, and
Mark Webber. Principal photography began in March 2017. In December 2024, he was reported to be directing ''
Dead Man's Wire'' starring
Bill Skarsgård and
Dacre Montgomery, and produced by Elevated Films and Balcony 9 Productions.
Other work Van Sant released two musical albums:
Gus Van Sant and
18 Songs About Golf. Van Sant played himself in episodes of the IFC series
Portlandia and the HBO series
Entourage. Van Sant was credited for all photography, paintings and art direction on the
Red Hot Chili Peppers' album
Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and directed the video for "
Under the Bridge". He directed the pilot for the Starz television program
Boss, starring
Kelsey Grammer. Van Sant went onto
The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast in 2014 to discuss filmmaking, writing, film history and their collaborations that never got made (
The Golden Suicides) and the one that did (
The Canyons). == Personal life ==