Paul Haggis

Quit the Church of Scientology in 2009--after 34 years--because he disagreed with the organization about its support of Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California. His public break with the church was profiled in a long piece by Lawrence Wright in the February 14, 2011, issue of "The New Yorker"; the article was unusual in that it shed light on some of the inner workings and controversies of the normally secretive Church of Scientology. In the profile Haggis estimated that he spent more than $100,000 on courses and auditing, and $300,000 on various Scientology initiatives.

I agreed to write the pilot because I thought it would just go away, but it became this huge hit and I remember waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning in a cold sweat, dripping wet. I mean, I was drenched. I just pictured my tombstone and it said: "Paul Haggis: Creator of Walker, Texas Ranger (1993)." So the impetus for making these movies is really just to wipe that image from my mind. (on his decision to move from television to films like Crash (2004))