Paul Haggis
Occupation
Filmmaker
Paul Haggis attending the New York premiere of 'Bleed For This,' hosted by Open Road with Men's Fitness, at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater in New York City, United States - Monday 14th November 2016
Third Person Review
By Rich Cline
Good
There are moments when this three-strand drama almost ascends to the emotional resonance of writer-director Paul Haggis' Oscar-winning 2004 movie Crash. Perhaps even more ambitious, this film is exploring issues of creativity, attraction and grief, but Haggis puts so much effort into the literary trickery that he fails to create characters the audience can connect with. So the drama ends up being interesting but never moving.
The central plot-thread is in Paris, where blocked writer Michael (Liam Neeson) is holed up in a hotel after leaving his wife (Kim Basinger) and arranging to meet his whip-smart mistress Anna (Olivia Wilde). But their witty romance seems to get entangled with his struggle to write a new novel. Meanwhile in Rome, dodgy American businessman Scott (Adrien Brody) meets Monika (Moran Atias), a sexy Roma woman trying to rescue her kidnapped daughter from local gangsters. With his own haunting back-story involving a lost child, Scott offers to help. And in New York, fallen soap-star Julia (Mila Kunis) has hired a lawyer (Maria Bello) in an effort to get custody of her son from her wealthy-painter ex (James Franco). But her life has gone so far off the rails that it's unlikely any judge will see things her way.
There's a clear sense that these storylines are swirling around in Michael's head as he tries to write. Each character has parent-child issues, including the event that sent Michael's career into a downward spiral. But Haggis never quite defines all of this, leaving ideas and themes dangling everywhere without connecting them to authentic people or experiences. So it's very difficult to get involved in any of the story strands, even though the actors deliver open, raw performances. Kunis has the film's strongest role, a complex journey into the aching soul of a mother, and she plays it beautifully. And Bello finds some moments of consuming emotion in her smaller part. Everything else feels rather cliched, from Neeson and Wilde's cute-prickly romantic games to Brody's journey to the dark side of Italy.
Continue reading: Third Person Review
A Week In News: Havoc As 'Godzilla' And Kardashians Unleashed On Unsuspecting Cities
By Lauren James in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 23 May 2014
Chart-crushing blues rock and building-smashing monster movie antics: another week in news brings shocks and laughs.
Cannes Continues: We're nearly at the end of the second week of the Cannes Film Festival and have been mentally noting which new movies have soared or been scorched at the hands of critics. _Map to the Stars, Two Days, One Night, Mommy_ and Foxcatcher have all received glowing reviews whilst _Lost River, Grace of Monaco,_ and The Search... well, less so. Click on links for reviews highlights and details for each movie.
Carter-Knowles Camp Content?: The Jay Z/Solange brouhaha confusion still hasn't been publically illuminated but the Carter-Knowles family seems to be intent on proving to the world that everything is just fine, fine, fine, thank you very much after footage leaked showing the singer attacking her rapper brother-in-law in a lift. Beyoncé's statement did little to explain her sister's violence but her newly-posted family photos do a good job of sweeping it all under the rug, for better or worse.
Continue reading: A Week In News: Havoc As 'Godzilla' And Kardashians Unleashed On Unsuspecting Cities
'Third Person': Check Out The Trailer For Paul Haggis' "Russian Doll" Drama
By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 22 May 2014
Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, James Franco and Liam Neeson star in this unusual film.
The release of Paul Haggis' unique new drama, Third Person, is looming and fans can finally check out the trailer for the movie that had critics' heads spinning at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody, Maria Bello, Olivia Wilde and Kim Basinger, Third Person incorporates three interwoven love stories in Rome, Paris and New York.
Mila Kunis Takes On A Dark New Role In The Compelling 'Third Person.'
In Paris, Neeson plays Michael; a writer who leaves his wife and begins and on/off relationship with his lover Anna, played by Olivia Wilde. However Anna is unable to commit to Michael because she has a troubling secret that affects her life.
Continue reading: 'Third Person': Check Out The Trailer For Paul Haggis' "Russian Doll" Drama
Third Person Trailer
Love is never uncomplicated and when a third person gets involved, it can make things even more difficult. Michael is an award-winning novelist who has left his wife for a much younger lover. He is in Paris finishing his latest book which eerily seems to reflect his own personal problems which get more intense by the day. Meanwhile, a dodgy businessman named Scott travels to Rome to get involved in a fashion design scam only to meet an attractive young woman named Monika. She reveals that she has finally been given the chance to see her daughter again but when the money she needs to see her is apparently stolen, Scott finds himself embroiled in a much deeper con. Then there's Julia, a former actress who has been refused contact with her child and is going through a serious legal battle to be able to hold her son again.
Continue: Third Person Trailer
Video - Robert Redford Arrives With His Wife At The 'All Is Lost' NYFF Premiere - Part 1
Robert Redford and his wife Sibylle Szaggars posed on the red carpet at the premiere of his new ocean adventure movie 'All Is Lost' during the New York Film Festival. Redford is the sole actor in the flick about a lone sailor whose boat gets wrecked beyond repair leaving him stranded on a life raft in the middle of a storm.
Continue: Video - Robert Redford Arrives With His Wife At The 'All Is Lost' NYFF Premiere - Part 1
Why Paul Haggis Wants 'Third Person' To Irritate People With Its "Russian Doll" Structure
By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 13 September 2013
There's been a lot of head-scratching after 'Third Person' premiered at TIFF.
Third Person has premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, challenging audiences with its interwoven storyline and unanswered questions. Paul Haggis directed the romantic drama which employs a star-studded cast and some glamorous locations.
Paul Haggis: The Riddler.
Starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody, Maria Bello, Olivia Wilde and Kim Basinger, Third Person incorporates three interlocking love stories in Rome, Paris and New York In Paris, Neeson plays Michael; a writer who leaves his wife and begins and on/off relationship with his lover Anna, played by Olivia Wilde. However Anna is unable to commit to Michael because she has a troubling secret that affects her life.
Continue reading: Why Paul Haggis Wants 'Third Person' To Irritate People With Its "Russian Doll" Structure
Leah Remini Offered Big Bucks For Tell-All Memoirs Into Scientology Past
By Joe Wilde in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 05 August 2013
The 'King of Queens' star is already working on a revealing account into her past, just weeks after leaving the Church of Scientology
Leah Remini, the co-star of the comedy series King of Queens, made the conscious decision to leave the Church of Scientology in July this year, severing her nearly 30-year devotion to the controversial religious group. Almost a month after the New York Daily News broke the news of Remini's decision to leave the cult, the actress has since confirmed that she will be discussing all the intimate details of her life when she published her tell-all memoirs.
Remini was brave to leave behind her past
Remini's planned move into writing, which was first confirmed by Us Weekly, is due to begin almost immediately and will leave no stone unturned and no taboo ignored as she recalls a life spent with some of the most controversial religious figures in America. The actress and former Talk co-host confirmed with Us on Friday (2 August) that her book "will include [her] experiences, everything that's taboo to talk about."
Continue reading: Leah Remini Offered Big Bucks For Tell-All Memoirs Into Scientology Past
Leah Remini Will Talk Church Of Scientology In Memoirs, Supported By Paul Haggis
By Elinor Cosgrave in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 05 August 2013
Leah Remini has decided to write memoirs about experience with the Church of Scientology. Paul Haggis, a former member of the church, has expressed his support and admiration of Remini's decision to speak out.
Leah Remini will tell all about her life as a Scientologist in her upcoming memoir. The 43 year old actress said, to US Weekly, her upcoming memoirs "will include my experiences, everything that's taboo to talk about."
Remini has revealed very little about her break from the Church of Scientology since her decision was announced over three weeks ago. It is believed the former King of Queens star left the church due to a number of disagreements with the Scientologists leader, David Miscavige. According to some reports, there has been tension between Remini and Miscavige since Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding in 2006 (where Remini allegedly asked the whereabouts of Miscavige's wife).
Continue reading: Leah Remini Will Talk Church Of Scientology In Memoirs, Supported By Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis and Guest - 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset Tower - Arrivals - Los Angeles, California, United States - Monday 25th February 2013
Paul Haggis Thursday 19th May 2011 2011 Cannes International Film Festival - Day 9
Paul Haggis - Thursday 20th January 2011 at Tribeca Grand Hotel New York City, USA
Charlize Theron and Paul Haggis - Charlize Theron and Paul Haggis Saturday 1st September 2007 at Venice Film Festival Venice, Italy
The Last Kiss (2006) Review
OK
The catchy pop ballads found on the soundtrack for Tony Goldwyn's The Last Kiss will break your heart in two. The movie these songs support only wishes it could make such a claim.
Back to the music for a minute. Coldplay, Cary Brothers, Fiona Apple, Snow Patrol, and a smattering of other fashionable artists - each handpicked by leading man Zach Braff - croon (and sometimes whine) about infidelity, loss, and life-changing mistakes that target the love of your life. Sample lyrics include, "She's moving on... without you." Sentiments rarely deviate from this norm. It's a nice place to wallow on a rainy afternoon.
Braff worked similar musical magic for his directorial debut Garden State. His ear for stirring, soulful melodies earned him a Best Compilation Soundtrack for a Motion Picture Grammy award. But where Braff's Garden mix tape enhanced his quirky and personal little comedy, this new song collection can't lift Goldwyn's somber material from the doldrums.
Continue reading: The Last Kiss (2006) Review
Crash (2004) Review
By David Levine
Excellent
In Crash, a simple car accident forms an unyielding foundation for the complex exploration of race and prejudice. Thoroughly repulsive throughout, but incredibly thought provoking long after, Paul Haggis' breathtaking directorial debut succeeds in bringing to the forefront the behaviors that many people keep under their skin. And by thrusting these attitudes toward us with a highly calculated, reckless abandon, Haggis puts racism on the highest pedestal for our review.
There is no better place for this examination than the culturally diverse melting pot of modern-day Los Angeles. In just over 24 hours, Crash brings together people from all walks of life. Two philosophizing black men (Ludacris and Larenz Tate) steal the expensive SUV belonging to the white, L.A. District Attorney (Brendan Fraser), and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock). A similar vehicle belonging to a wealthy black television director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) is later pulled over by a racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his partner (Ryan Phillippe). Soon, many of these people get mixed up with a Latino locksmith (Michael Peña), a Persian storekeeper (Shaun Toub), and two ethnically diverse, dating police detectives (Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito).
Continue reading: Crash (2004) Review