Gus Van Sant is a very calm, relaxed guy. As Robin Williams (who was in the audience) stated, “Gus makes Buddhists seem hyperactive.
It was interesting to hear him talk about his movies, and find out little tid-bits of information I did not previously know. Such as, his first choice to play Bob in Drugstore Cowboy was not Matt Dillion, Matt was not even second choice. The first person Gus wanted to play Bob was Tom Waits, then Jack Nicholson, Jeff Bridges and then Matt.
We were shown a couple new clips from upcoming Van Sant movies, one was “Gerry” which has beautiful cinematography, and the other is “Elephant” which is about high school violence and abuse. I am looking forward to both films.