Gus Van Sant

Directing

Gus Van Sant

Born 1952-07-24 · Louisville, Kentucky, USA

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.

Acting credits

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back poster
6.4

When Jay and Silent Bob learn that their comic-book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic, have been sold to Hollywood as part of a big-screen movie that leaves them out of any royalties, the pair travel to Tinseltown to sabotage the production.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

2001

Drugstore Cowboy poster
7.1

Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

Drugstore Cowboy

1989

My Own Private Idaho poster
7.0

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

My Own Private Idaho

1991

Psycho poster
5.1

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.

Psycho

1998

Finding Forrester poster
7.1

Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.

Finding Forrester

2000

Paranoid Park poster
6.5

A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".

Paranoid Park

2007

Illegal Civilization 3 poster
5.0

Features Kevin White, Aramis Hudson, Zach Saraceno, Nico Hiraga, and Olan Prenatt skating, having fun, and getting into all of the hijinks that we’ve come to expect from the Civ.

Illegal Civilization 3

2018

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot poster
6.7

On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.

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

2018

Zeroville poster
5.0

A young actor arrives in Hollywood in 1969 during a transitional time in the Industry.

Zeroville

2019

Critic poster
7.9

Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss cinema around the conflict between the artist and the observer, the creator and the critic. Between 1998 and 2007, Kléber Mendonça Filho recorded testimonies about this relationship in Brazil, the United States and Europe, based on his experience as a critic.

Critic

2008

The Canyons poster
4.4

The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.

The Canyons

2013

A Special Day poster
5.3

At the 60th anniversary of Cannes Film Festival, 34 famous directors are followed by camera.

A Special Day

2012

I Don't Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman poster
6.7

I Don’t Belong Anywhere - Le Cinéma de Chantal Akerman, explores some of the Belgian filmmaker’s 40 plus films. From Brussels to Tel-Aviv, from Paris to New-York, this documentary charts the sites of her peregrinations. An experimental filmmaker, a nomad, Chantal Akerman shares her cinematic trajectory, one that has never ceased to interrogate the the meaning of her existence. Thanks in great part to the interventions of her editor, Claire Atherton, she delineates the origins of her film language and her aesthetic stance.

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

2015

Last Days poster
5.6

The life and struggles of a notorious rock musician seeping into a pit of loneliness whose everyday life involves friends and family seeking financial aid and favors, inspired by rock music legend Kurt Cobain and his final hours.

Last Days

2005

The Trainer poster
6.8

Jack Flex is broke, buff, and wildly delusional—but he’s got a dream: to sell his absurd invention, the Heavy Hat, on his mom’s favorite shopping channel. When a desperate producer gives him a shot, Jack’s web of lies—celebrity clients, Hollywood fame—starts to unravel. With just one week to turn fiction into fact, he sprints through L.A. in a chaotic quest for credibility, hope, and a shot at stardom.

The Trainer

2024

Rescued from the Closet poster
6.5

Rescued from the Closet is a 2001 documentary consisting of interviews originally recorded for the 1995 film The Celluloid Closet. It explores the history and impact of LGBT representation in cinema, providing insights into the portrayal and evolution of LGBT characters and themes within the film industry.

Rescued from the Closet

2001

Mala Noche poster
6.1

Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.

Mala Noche

1987

Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema poster
5.4

A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback Mountain". Talking heads, anchored by critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, are interspersed with an advancing timeline and with clips from two dozen films. The narrative groups the pictures around various firsts, movements, and triumphs: experimental films, indie films, sex on screen, outlaw culture and bad guys, lesbian lovers, films about AIDS and dying, emergence of romantic comedy, transgender films, films about diversity and various cultures, documentaries and then mainstream Hollywood drama. What might come next?

Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

2006

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

The nominees for the 1998 Oscar for Best Director — Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, James L. Brooks, Gus Van Sant and Curtis Hanson — discuss their craft in this panel organized by the DGA and moderated by director Jeremy Kagan.

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

1998

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within poster
6.5

A riveting and emotional journey into the world of writer William S. Burroughs, a man considered as cold as an iceberg on a winter night.

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

2010

Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open poster
7.6

Nicole Kidman has worked with a host of top directors in a varied career including Gus Van Sant, Jane Campion, Stanley Kubrick, Lars von Trier and Sofia Coppola. A portrait of a fascinatingly ambivalent actress who shines in Hollywood blockbusters as well as auteur cinema, determined to explore, role after role, the female condition.

Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open

2023

Reflecting on a Journey: Good Will Hunting 15 Years Later poster
NR

Documentary featurette for the 15th Anniversary Edition of Good Will Hunting, including interviews with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Gus Van Sant, Chris Moore, and Kevin Smith.

Reflecting on a Journey: Good Will Hunting 15 Years Later

2012

Andy by Gus poster
NR

Filmmaker Gus Van Sant steps into the shoes of a stage play director for the first time. A glimpse into his creation process and his adaptation to the theatrical language, as he puts together a musical show about Andy Warhol, in Lisbon.

Andy by Gus

2023

Psycho Path poster
7.2

Documentary on the making of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho." Featured at the Berlin Film Festival, 2000.

Psycho Path

1999

Behind the camera

Good Will Hunting poster
8.2

Will Hunting is a headstrong, working-class genius who is failing the lessons of life. After one too many run-ins with the law, Will's last chance is a psychology professor, who might be the only man who can reach him.

Good Will Hunting

1997

Dead Man's Wire poster
6.5

In 1977, former real estate developer Tony Kiritsis puts a dead man's switch on himself and the mortgage banker who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.

Dead Man's Wire

2026

Milk poster
7.2

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

Milk

2008

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Drugstore Cowboy poster
7.1

Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

Drugstore Cowboy

1989

Drugstore Cowboy poster
7.1

Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

Drugstore Cowboy

1989

My Own Private Idaho poster
7.0

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

My Own Private Idaho

1991

My Own Private Idaho poster
7.0

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

My Own Private Idaho

1991

Psycho poster
5.1

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.

Psycho

1998

Psycho poster
5.1

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.

Psycho

1998

Finding Forrester poster
7.1

Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.

Finding Forrester

2000

To Die For poster
6.6

Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.

To Die For

1995

The Sea of Trees poster
6.2

In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.

The Sea of Trees

2016

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

Paranoid Park poster
6.5

A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".

Paranoid Park

2007

Paranoid Park poster
6.5

A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".

Paranoid Park

2007

Elephant poster
7.0

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

Elephant

2003

Elephant poster
7.0

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

Elephant

2003

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot poster
6.7

On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.

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

2018

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot poster
6.7

On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.

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

2018

Promised Land poster
6.3

A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.

Promised Land

2012

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues poster
4.3

A girl born with enormous thumbs in the repressive era of the 1950s learns to turn her quirks into assets.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

1994

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues poster
4.3

A girl born with enormous thumbs in the repressive era of the 1950s learns to turn her quirks into assets.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

1994