Gus Van Sant Takes Acting Role Opposite Porn Star In The Canyons

What has Gus van Sant been up to since he was nominated for an Oscar for Milk in 2009? Well you might have missed it, but he actually directed a whole new film, the college-aged romance that was released last fall and grossed-- no, wait for it-- $163,265 total. Van Sant is no stranger to veering between tiny indies and mainstream successes, having released the tiny Paranoid Park the same year as Milk, and the low-key demise of Restless doesn't seem to be bothering him, as he's already moving on to his next directorial effort, the "Capra-esque" drama Promised Land with John Krasinski and Matt Damon.

Production on The Promied Land has already wrapped, and apparently taking a break from the editing room, van Sant has done something else unexpected-- taken on an acting role. In a photo tweeted by writer Bret Easton Ellis, van Sant is revealed to be playing a part in The Canyons, the new film from Paul Schrader that already features a, well, unusual cast. Van Sant's role is likely just a cameo, so we can still assume the main cast is made up of constantly troubled Lindsay Lohan and James Deen, the "boy-next-door" porn star who's earned a lot of media attention lately. According to Ellis they're playing the main characters in a film about "five twenty-soemthings' quest for power, love, sex and success in 2012 Hollywood."

The photo Ellis tweeted shows van Sant sharing a scene with Deen, in what might be the first instance ever of an Oscar-nominated director acting opposite a porn star. Who knows if Canyons will turn out to be any good-- the last film written by Ellis, The Informers, was a reported disaster-- but the cast sure is keeping our interest.

Katey Rich

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend