Cinemaphiles owe a lot to Paul Haggis. He single-handedly wrote and directed both the Oscar-nominated In The Valley of Elah and the Academy Award-winning Crash. In 2006 alone he shared writing credits on Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Casino Royale. He also happened to write a little movie called Million Dollar Baby.
So naturally we're excited to hear that Haggis is working on a new original screenplay called Third Person, an ensemble drama that takes a serious look at modern relationships in different parts of the world, including New York and Rome. Unlike Crash, Third Person will focus on only three couples, leaving Haggis more time to focus on developing his characters. And this time Haggis is taking on a less politically charged, though equally serious subject: romance.
Haggis has claimed in the past that he prefers to work alone until he has a finished project, and Third Person is no different - the writer-director told the LA Times he won't be involving any studios until after he has worked through his own creative process. It seems to have worked pretty damn well for Haggis in the past, so I doubt anyone will be giving him any trouble.
If you haven't seen any of Haggis' work before, you can check out the prison-break thriller The Next Three Days, which opens in theaters November 12.