Paul Haggis was born in London, Ontario, Canada and moved to California in his twenties. In 2006, he became the first screenwriter to write two films that won consecutive, Best Picture Oscars Million Dollar Baby (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and Crash: Physical Contact (2005), which he directed. For Crash: Physical Contact he won both the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, the film also received four other nominations including one for Director. Crash: Physical Contact has received many awards such as the IFP Spirit Awards, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA.
In 2006 Haggis’ screenplays include Clint Eastwood’s two productions Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, the latter earning him his third Oscar nomination. The Canadian director collaborated on the screenplay for Casino Royale, which received considerable acclaim for reviving the James Bond spy saga.
In 2007 for Warner Independent Pictures, Samuels Media and Summit Entertainment Haggis wrote, directed and produced In the Valley of Elah. The film, which stars Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon among others, is about a father searching for his missing son, who is accused of being AWOL after his return from Iraq. Jones received an Oscar nomination for best actor for his performance in the film.
This was followed by The Next Three Days, starring Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson and Elizabeth Banks. The film marks the first project of Hwy 61, the production company Haggis founded with his friend and producing partner Michael Nozik, and was also produced in collaboration with Lionsgate.
For more than two decades, the director has written, directed and produced television programs such as Thirtysomething, The Tracey Ullman Show and served as a writer on Norman Lear sitcoms. He created the acclaimed, if short-lived, CBS series EZ Streets, which The New York Times called one of the most influential shows of all time, noting that without it “there would be no Sopranos. ”
Haggis is equally committed to private and social issues. He is the founder of Artists for Peace and Justice. Under this organization, many of his showbiz friends have stepped up to build schools and rehabilitation clinics for children in Haiti’s shacks (www.APJNow.org). Haggis was a key element in the 25th anniversary of the “We Are the World” video, which the director directed into a new video and used for charitable purposes for Haiti.