We’ve had an ensemble piece from Haggis already, namely the critically acclaimed “Crash”. We have also had multi-strand romance before, from Valentine’s Day to Love Actually and He’s Just Not That Into You.
Now, Paul Haggis is taking the ensemble approach from Crash and applying it to what he promises will be a much darker look at romance, for “Third Person”. This time, rather than intertwining lives in LA, Haggis is planning to portray three couples in different locations around the world, with New York and Rome already on the list.
Haggis wants to make a serious story about modern relationships, set against scenic backdrops, but with fewer storylines than he used in Crash, in order to be able to go into more depth on each relationship.
Haggis has not taken the script to a studio yet, hoping to retain more creative freedom by working on the project on his own for the moment. Given his success with Crash and the esteem in which his screenplay work on everything from Million Dollar Baby, through Casino Royale and Flags of our Fathers is held, along with the positive buzz his latest film, The Next Three Days is garnering, you would think that he would be able to pursue his projects how he pleases. I guess not.
