Merrick here...

Gus Van Sant and author Bret Easton Ellis are working on a film about the suicides of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake. Their script will be based on a Vanity Fair piece by Nancy Jo Sales (read it HERE).

Duncan and Blake formed a popular couple on the downtown New York and Venice, Calif., art scenes. She was one of the first videogame designers for girls, and his "digital paintings" -- kaleidoscopic images shown on plasma screens -- established him as a rising star on the circuit.

The couple descended into a paranoid spiral when the artists developed a consuming belief that government and religious organizations were conspiring against them. She killed herself in 2007. Blake found her body on the floor of their bedroom, and walked into the Atlantic Ocean a week later, ending his life.

...according to THIS Variety piece.

At this time, Gus is only involved as a writer on the project - no word on whether he's looking to direct.