Paul Haggis on Screenwriting

About Writing: Paul Haggis on Screenwriting

There are two interesting moments in this interview with Paul Haggis. The first is his assertion that writers should ask questions, and not answer them. The second is almost a throwaway line, “What’s the worst thing that could happen to this character?”

From the video0 description:

Acclaimed writer-director Paul Haggis has been a fixture of television and film for over 25 years. In this wide-ranging interview, the Oscar-winning co-screenwriter, director, and producer of Crash (Best Picture 2005) discusses a three-decade career that led from writing for sitcoms like Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life to his breakthrough screenplay for Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby (Best Picture 2004). Haggis’s matter-of-fact stories of navigating the entertainment industry are an indelible primer for how to manage the screenwriting life, make a successful transition from TV to film, develop a strong story and characters, pitch an idea, and surmount Hollywood’s more frustrating obstacles.

 

Paul Haggis on Screenwriting
Paul Haggis on Screenwriting
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