Quote

I like taking genres and subverting them. I did that with In the Valley of Elah. I said, Okay, this is just a murder mystery. Relax. And then, two thirds of the way through, I broke every convention of a murder mystery.

Paul Haggis

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Paul Haggis
Age: 71
Born: 1953
Born: March 10
Film Director
Film Producer
Screenwriter
London
Ontario
Paul Edward Haggis
Okay
Valley
Mystery
Valleys
Taking
Conventions
Two
Relax
Every
Genre
Way
Broke
Subverting
Like
Thirds
Genres
Murder
Convention

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I wanted to do a political film that is as nonpartisan as can be, because I wanted to do a story that was American. I wanted to tell an American tragedy.
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I was in a cult for thirty-four years. Everyone else could see it. I don’t know why I couldn’t.
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You don't make a film because the audience is ready for it. You make a film because you have questions that are in your gut.
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I’m a deeply broken person, and broken institutions fascinate me.
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A creative person has to believe in the unseen and the untouched.
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Always write from your gut, no matter what the project is.
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You hear this story that we're all on the left, but when there's a demonstration, you count how many actors actually come out. If there's a half dozen, that would be a big day.
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I miss my mother very, very much.
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What I love about writing is the contradictions we all embody as human beings.
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Right after we invaded Iraq, I put a sign on my lawn that said War is not the answer. That sign was either defaced, ripped up, or stolen every week. I had to replace that sign twelve times.
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I've lived in America for many years. I mean, I love being a Canadian, but I truly identify with America. I love America so much.
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We all have these tendencies in us that could go this way or that. I think that's the real key in writing. To look at a character without judgment.
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As a general rule, I don't plan to travel with my Oscars, but we may have to make an exception.
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United States could be a great country. It needs to be a great country. It's our responsibility as citizens to make that happen, every single one of us.
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I optioned the magazine article. That was end of 2003. It was a time when the war was incredibly popular here and everyone was driving around with flags on their car, if you remember not too long ago.
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This is our fault. My fault as much as the next man's, because even if I was against the war, I didn't do enough to stop it.
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I just want to thank people who take big risks in their daily lives when there aren't cameras rolling. I want to dedicate this award to people who stand up for peace and against injustice and intolerance.
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I just always try to find an interesting story and tell it well. That's a hard enough thing to do, whether it's a piece of fiction or it's a small piece of reality. I just look for good story.
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I like to write about things about which I have no answers, questions that trouble me. These things trouble me.
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When I started to allow the characters to go where they wanted to go, I just had to follow.
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