Gus Van Sant Biography
Gus Van Sant whose full name is Gus Green Van Sant Jr. is an American film director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author who has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures, in particular, homosexuality; as such, Van Sant is considered one of the most prominent auteurs of the New Queer Cinema movement.
Gus Van Sant’s Age
Van Sant was born on 24 July 1952 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Gus Van Sant is 70 years old as of 2022.
Gus Van Sant Height
Van Sant stands at a height of 5 feet 9 inches. Which is equivalent to 1.75 meters.
Gus Van Sant Family
Van Sant was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Betty (née Seay) and Gus Green Van Sant Sr; Gus’s father was a clothing manufacturer and traveling salesman, who rapidly worked his way into middle-class prosperity, holding executive marketing positions that included being president of the White Stag Manufacturing Company’s Apparel Operation. As a result of his father’s job, the family moved continually during Van Sant’s childhood. His paternal family is of partial Dutch origin; the name “Van Sant” is derived from the Dutch name “Van Zandt”. The earliest Van Zandt arrived in the New Netherlands area in the early 17th century, around what is now New York City.
Gus Van Sant’s Wife
Not much is there to know about his dating life, as he happens to be sexually gay. Yes, that is right Gus Van Sant is gay; although there is no information as to who his partner is. Having had a girlfriend back in school, he came to realize his mismatch with the other guys when his friends talked about women and attraction in high school. “I used to like girls and so did my friends. But the way we talked about them made me feel the difference. I was never attracted to them in that way, you know as other guys do. And I was scared of it like I didn’t have anyone to talk to.” This fact changes all the queries questions asked about his married/ divorced life, and whether or not he has a wife or any children. He is termed as “one of few openly gay directors.”
Gus Van Sant Education
Van Sant is an alumnus of Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut, and The Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon. One constant in the director’s early years was his interest in visual arts (namely, painting and Super-8 filmmaking); while still in school he began making semi-autobiographical shorts costing between 30 and 50 dollars. Van Sant’s artistic leanings took him to the Rhode Island School of Design in 1970, where his introduction to various avant-garde directors inspired him to change his major from painting to cinema.
Gus Van Sant Career
Van Sant’s early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. He made his feature-length cinematic directorial debut with Mala Noche (1985). His second feature Drugstore Cowboy (1989) was highly acclaimed and earned Van Sant screenwriting awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle and the award for Best Director from the National Society of Film Critics.
His following film, My Own Private Idaho (1991), was similarly praised, as was the black comedy To Die For (1995), the drama Good Will Hunting (1997), and the biographical film Milk (2008); for the latter two, Van Sant was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and both films received Best Picture nominations. 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 the context of 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.
Gus Van Sant Filmography
- 1985 Mala Noche
- 1989 Drugstore Cowboy
- 1991 My Own Private Idaho
- 1993 Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
- 1995 To Die For
- 1997 Good Will Hunting
- 1998 Psycho
- 2000 Finding Forrester
- 2002 Gerry
- 2003 Elephant
- 2005 Last Days
- 2007 Paranoid Park
- 2008 Milk
- 2011 Restless
- 2012 Promised Land
- 2015 The Sea of Trees
- 2018 Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
Gus Van Sant’s Net Worth
Van Sant’s estimated net worth is $ 50 million as of 2023.