Oscar-winning writer Paul Haggis made a name for himself on American TV before penning Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. He talks to Film4.com about his directorial debut, Crash.
Million Dollar Baby provoked controversy in America among the Christian right, while Crash takes on contemporary race relations. You have said before that you're drawn to volatile material. Why take such risks at a time when so many people are playing safe?
Well, I'm a bit of a contrarian. I left television when everyone was rushing to it. When Jerry Bruckheimer was going, “My God! Television! It's taking over,” I was going, “You know what? I think I'll go into independent film.” I guess I've never been interested in taking the path that everyone else takes.
Do you have a political background? I know that you're involved with organisations such as Artists for Peace and Justice, and The Centre for the Advancement of Non-Violence.
I can't say I'm overly political. I'm just as concerned as the next citizen and feel that if you're concerned, you have a responsibility to do something about that. So, you know, we're just doing little things here in Los Angeles to make actors, writers and directors a little more aware of what our country is doing in our name. You know, if we can each do our little bit then maybe, eventually, something will happen.
We've mentioned taking risks. When you were writing Crash, did you ever ask yourself whether you had the right to put the kind of words that you do into the mouths of your racially diverse cast of characters?
Oh completely. Every day we sat down, I said to Bobby [Moresco, his co-writer], “What the hell are we doing? We're two white guys. We're going to be killed. We don't have any right to say these things.”
One of the bravest scenes is the one where a black couple, played by Thandie Newton and Terrence Howard, talk about black identity. Did that feel particularly risky for you?
Yeah, absolutely. But, oddly, it's the black community that's really embraced this film more than any other. And those were the ones I was most worried about. The white liberal community, whenever you talk to somebody, they say, “What are you talking about? We don't have this problem. We've solved all this nonsense. Why are you bringing this up?” But I was most worried about the black reaction to it.