When I was 14, I felt very rundown; I had a home to go to, but I felt like I was 60 or something, older than I feel now. And I don't know if it's something that happens at 14, or whether it was adolescence or whether I was gay, or closeted gay, or whatever it was, I felt that.

However those same reviewers were less impressed with the script's schematic Scent of a Woman-meets-Good Will Hunting template. In addition to directing he also devoted considerable energy to releasing two albums and publishing a novel Pink which was a thinly veiled exploration of his grief over River Phoenix's 1993 death. Mala Noche was made two years after Van Sant went to New York to work in an advertising agency.

His filmography as writer and director includes a 1994 adaptation of Tom Robbins' 1976 novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues which features a diverse cast (Keanu Reeves Roseanne Barr Uma Thurman and k. (born July 24 1952) is an American film director screenwriter painter photographer musician and author. He lives in Portland Oregon.