Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early
career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series. Among
his achievements are screenwriter and producer credits for consecutive Best Picture winners,
2004's Million Dollar Baby and 2005's Crash, the latter of which he also directed.
Early life and education Haggis was born on March 10, 1953, in London,
Ontario, the son of Mary Yvonne and Edward H. Haggis. He was raised as a Catholic, but
considered himself an atheist until joining the Church of Scientology, which he later
denounced as a cult. The Gallery Theatre in London, Ontario, was owned by his parents,
and Haggis gained experience in the field through work at the theatre. He attended St.
Thomas More Elementary School, and after being inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc
Godard, proceeded to study art at H. B. Beal Secondary School. After viewing Michelangelo
Antonioni's 1966 film Blowup, he traveled to England with the intent of becoming a fashion
photographer. Haggis later went back to Canada to pursue studies in cinematography at Fanshawe
College. In 1975, Haggis moved to Los Angeles, California, to begin a career in writing in
the entertainment industry. Career
Haggis began to work as a writer for television programs, including The Love Boat, One Day
at a Time, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Facts of Life. With The Facts of Life, Haggis also
gained his first credit as producer. During the 1980s and 1990s, Haggis wrote for television
series including The Tracey Ullman Show, Due South, L.A. Law, and EZ Streets. He helped
to create the television series Walker, Texas Ranger, Family Law, and Due South. Haggis
served as executive producer of the series Michael Hayes and Family Law.
He gained recognition in the film industry for his work on the 2004 film Million Dollar
Baby, which Allmovie described as a "serious milestone" for the writer/producer, and as
"his first high-profile foray into feature film". Haggis had read two stories written
by Jerry Boyd, a boxing trainer who wrote under the name of F.X. Toole. Haggis acquired
the rights to the stories, and developed them into the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby.
Clint Eastwood portrayed the lead character in the film. Eastwood also directed the film,
and used the screenplay written by Haggis. Million Dollar Baby received four Academy
Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture.
After Million Dollar Baby, Haggis worked on the 2004 film Crash. Haggis came up with the
story for the film on his own, and then wrote and directed the film, which allowed him greater
control over his work. Crash was his first experience as director of a major feature
film. Critical reception of Crash was positive, and Roger Ebert called it the best film of
2005. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, in addition
to four other Academy Award nominations. Haggis received two Academy Awards for the film:
Best Picture, and Best Writing for his work on the screenplay. With Million Dollar Baby
and then Crash, Haggis became the first individual to have written Best Picture Oscar-winners
in two consecutive years. Haggis said that he wrote Crash to "Bust Liberals", arguing
that liberals were not honest with themselves about the nature of race and racism.
Public break from the Church of Scientology After maintaining active membership in the
Church of Scientology for 35 years, Haggis left the organization in October 2009. He
was motivated to leave Scientology in reaction to statements made by the San Diego branch
of the Church of Scientology in support of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative which
banned gay marriage in California. Haggis wrote to Thomas Davis, the Church's
spokesman, and requested that he denounce these statements; when Davis remained silent,
Haggis responded that "Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent." Haggis went on
to list other grievances against Scientology, including its policy of disconnection, and
the smearing of its ex-members through the leaking of their personal details.
The Observer commented on defections of Haggis and actor Jason Beghe from Scientology, "The
decision of Beghe and Haggis to quit Scientology appears to have caused the movement its greatest
recent PR difficulties, not least because of its dependence on Hollywood figures as
both a source of revenue for its most expensive courses and an advertisement for the religion."
In an interview with Movieline, Haggis was asked about similarities between his film
The Next Three Days and his departure from the Scientology organization; Haggis responded,
"I think one's life always parallels art and art parallels life." In February 2011, The
New Yorker published a 25,000-word story, "The Apostate", by Lawrence Wright, detailing
Haggis's allegations about the Church of Scientology. The article ended by quoting Haggis: "I was
in a cult for thirty-four years. Everyone else could see it. I don't know why I couldn't."
Personal life Haggis lives in Santa Monica, California.
Haggis is the founder of a non-profit organization called Artists for Peace and Justice that
encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty and enfranchisement in communities
around the world. The organization's immediate goal is to serve the poorest communities in
Haiti with programs in education and healthcare. Haggis is very involved in the Haitian relief
effort and often travels to the country himself. Haggis has described his political beliefs
as being "a little left of Mao. Filmography
Film
Television Video games
Awards and nominations Haggis has been nominated for dozens of awards.
See also
List of Canadian directors List of film and television directors
List of film producers List of British and Commonwealth Academy Award
winners and nominees List of Big Five Academy Award winners and
nominees List of people who have won multiple Academy
Awards in a single year List of people from Santa Monica, California
List of people from London, Ontario List of former Scientologists
Scientology controversies Further reading
Wells, Barry. "Paul Haggis wants to inspire London students". Alt London.
Forsythe, Coco. "Down In The Valley". FutureMovies. References
External links Paul Haggis at AllMovie
Paul Haggis at the Internet Movie Database Paul Haggis at the TCM Movie Database
Works by or about Paul Haggis in libraries