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Gus Van Sant: Director
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HOLLYWOOD, CA—Promising a "stunning re-creation of an American film classic," director Gus Van Sant announced Monday he will execute a shot-for-shot remake of the 1985 film Teen Wolf. In the new version, Jonathan Taylor Thomas will reprise the role made famous by Michael J. Fox, playing Scott Howard, a Nebraska high-schooler who leads his basketball team to victory after transforming into a werewolf. Jennifer Love Hewitt co-stars as "Boof." Van Sant said he is "leaving open the possibility" of re-filming the 1987 sequel Teen Wolf Too.
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NEW YORK, November 16, 2007 – Academy Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant will commence production in January on the biographical drama Milk, to star Academy Award winner Sean Penn as gay-rights icon Harvey Milk. Milk will be produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, the Academy Award-winning producers of American Beauty, through The Jinks/Cohen Company. Milk is being co-financed by Groundswell Productions and Focus Features, and distributed worldwide by Focus. The announcement was made today by Focus CEO James Schamus and Groundswell CEO Michael London.
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After spending time in Europe, Van Sant went to Los Angeles in 1976. He secured a job as a production assistant to writer/director Ken Shapiro, with whom he developed a few ideas, none of which came to fruition. Van Sant channeled his frustrations into the 1981 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.
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Van Sant returned to familiar territory—another indie road picture centering on an outsider (budgeted at $7.5 million), "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (1994). Adapted from Tom Robbins' 1976 cult novel about a young woman whose outsized thumbs make her a formidable hitchhiker, "Cowgirls" was highly anticipated after the attention-getting success of the writer-director's preceding two features. The film was reportedly rushed through editing to be ready for the international film festivals. After "underwhelming" audience response at the 1994 Toronto Film Festival opening night screening, "Cowgirls" was returned to the editing room for extensive recutting. (Van Sant has denied the rumors that reshooting was required.) Nonetheless, the final product was deemed a tedious bore, top heavy with would-be quirky characters. It fizzled with both critics and audiences.
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Synopsis: The debut film of director Gus Van Sant, this independent, low-budget comedy-drama based on an autobiographical novel by Walt Curtis was produced on black-and-white 16 mm film for only $25,000. Tim Streeter stars as Walt, the manager of a seedy liquor store in Portland, OR. Walt, who is gay, hasRead More
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Van Sant, longing to return to more intimate production methods, decided to leave behind big-budget studio filmmaking for his next two features. Inspired by the works of Hungarian director Bela Tarr and American maverick John Cassavetes, Van Sant retreated to the deserts of Argentina, Utah, and Death Valley for 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. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film earned as much derision as it did praise, polarizing audiences with its elliptical, purposefully uneventful storyline, punctuated by cinematographer Harris Savides' stunning landscape photography.
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