You have to have empathy, knowledge and compassion for your characters if you're a writer. Paul Haggis More Quotes by Paul Haggis More Quotes From Paul Haggis We think we know what's right. With excessive pride comes blindness. Paul Haggis blindnesspridethinking I found two true stories. One was in 2003. One was the beginning of 2004. I decided to meld them. Richard Davis' story which is the largest portion of this, a lot of the events are exactly as you saw, exactly what happened and the locations. Exactly as it was said with the chicken house and the strip club. Richard's parents were on the set and they'll tell you that the story is different than their son's. I was very concerned because I called them to say, 'You understand I'm fictionalizing this story? Paul Haggis parenttwoson For me, the most interesting people are ones who often work against their best interests. Bad choices. They go in directions where you go, 'No no no nooo!' You push away someone who is trying to love you, you hurt someone who's trying to get your trust, or you love someone you shouldn't. Paul Haggis bestmeworklove I wrote an episode for 'thirtysomething,' and a producer said, 'That's really good, but what is it about? What does it say about you? What questions are you asking yourself?' I had never thought about that. This comment changed who I was, because it made me look at my own soul, the dark corners in my soul, and accept that dark side. Paul Haggis goodmeyousoul The wonderful thing about Clint is you can never second guess how he is going to react to anything. Paul Haggis reacthowneveryou I just asked myself, what piece of that man's soul did he just chew off and swallow to get next week's assignment? You know, just to live, just to work as an artist, or to feed the family? Paul Haggis myselfmanfamilywork 'Crash' was incredibly personal to me. So was 'In the Valley of Elah.' There were things in 'The Next Three Days' that were questions I was asking myself but couldn't answer, like how far would you go for love? Can you believe in somebody who can't even believe in themselves? But this is highly personal. Paul Haggis myselfmeyoulove I loved American filmmakers when I was growing up. I didn't get to film school or anything. I was a very bad student. I just devoured film, but there was a point in my teens when I started to run a little film society. Paul Haggis lovedbadsocietyschool I don't know how much credit I can take for 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' because I only worked on it for three weeks. I re-wrote the pilot, and then my name was on it forever. Paul Haggis pilotnameknowi-can When I discovered European filmmakers, it affected me so deeply. It redefined what cinema could be. I mean, 'Blow-Up' ends with a dead body and mimes playing tennis. What? Paul Haggis deadmecinemabody I just figure if you have a modicum of celebrity, you need to use it, and you need to use it for more things than just promoting yourself or your film or your image or your product. Paul Haggis yourneedyourselfyou I made a very good living as a bad writer. I wrote a lot of comedies, 'Diff'rent Strokes,' 'Facts of Life,' while all my friends were doing the good shows, like 'Cheers,' but I loved it because I got to be a working writer in Hollywood. Paul Haggis lovedgoodfriendslife 'Crash' came from personal experience. I saw things inside me from living in L.A. that made me uncomfortable. I saw horrible things in people and saw terrible things in myself. I saw a black director completely humiliated, but the three people around me just thought it was funny. 'No,' I said, 'that is selling your soul.' Paul Haggis myselfmesoulfunny Even in a comedy, you have to make people feel. You have to put your hand inside their soul and twist out their heart. Paul Haggis yousoulheartpeople I don't pay much attention to the press. My films always get good reviews and bad reviews. I just try to make the best film I can. Paul Haggis bestbadgoodattention There's nothing more painful than writing. Paul Haggis morenothingpainfulwriting The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping others. Paul Haggis greatgoodgood-peoplepeople
