By PDX People

PORTLAND, Ore. – When thinking about well-known Hollywood Directors many names come to mind but Gus Van Sant is one of the top names that movie fans always think of because of his work directing films like Drugstore Cowboy, Good Will Hunting and other top Hollywood movies over the years but what most movie fans don’t know is that he’s also from Portland Oregon.

About Gus Van Sant

Born in Kentucky, Gus Van Sant moved to Portland Oregon where he quickly became known for his work in art house cinema.

During his early career Van Sant achieved critical success with films like My Own Private Idaho and Drugstore Cowboy, but he ultimately found mainstream commercial success when he directed Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting.

Besides his work on Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant also directed 1995’s to Die For. Starring Nichole Kidman. This movie tells the story of a Suzanne Stone, a local TV television personality who will stop at nothing to become famous.

What’s shocking about Gus Van Sant’s most well-known movies is that they are all now over 20 years old and have stood the test of time while other movies from his generation have come and gone. 

Return To His Art House Cinema Roots

Since his work on Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant directed several other commercially successful movies but art house cinema was where his hear was really at and he’s directed several notable films over the last 10 years like Elephant, Milk, and Promised Land.

At the age of 64 Gus Van Sant hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down and continues working in a wide variety of mediums including music and television:

Van Sant released two musical albums: Gus Van Sant and 18 Songs About Golf. The Broken Social Scene song, “Art House Director”, is supposedly about himself, a connection discussed by a Singaporean fan on the internet. Van Sant played himself in episodes of the HBO series Entourage and the IFC series Portlandia.

Van Sant directed the pilot for the Starz television program Boss, starring Kelsey Grammer. Van Sant went onto The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast to discuss filmmaking, writing, film history and their collaborations that never got made (The Golden Suicides) and the one that did (The Canyons)

-Making it Happen!