Gus Van Sant is an American film director who is best known for directing Good Will Hunting. He began his career by direction television commercials in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Gus Van Sant is openly gay and many of the movies he is involved with have gay themes or characters. Other well-known movies which were directed by him include My Own Private Idaho and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, his family moved a lot during his childhood because of his father's job as a traveling salesman. He showed an early interest in painting and movie making and while he was still in school began making short 30 or 50 minutes movies at a very low price. In 1970 he began attending the Rhode Island School of Design and after spending some time in Europe, he moved to Los Angeles in 1976. In 1985 he directed Mala Noche which the Los Angeles Times called the Best Independent Film of the year. Soon after, he moved to Portland, Oregon where he still resides today. In Oregon, Gus Van Sant began taking another look at movie ideas which had been passed on in Los Angeles. In 1989 he directed Drugstore Cowboy, which received good critical acclaim. In 1991 he directed River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves in Keanu Reeves in My Own Private Idaho, which won the Independent Spirit Award that year. In 1995 he directed Nicole Kidman in To Die For and in 1997 directed Good Will Hunting, a movie written and acted in by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. With the release of that movie, Gus Van Sant finally achieved mainstream success. 2000's Finding Forrester followed the success of Hunting, but afterward, Gus Van Sant moved back into smaller projects. In 2005 he released Last Days. In addition to directing, he has had a photography book published, and is a talented musician. His albums include Gus Van Sant and 18 Songs About Golf.