Oscar-winner Paul Haggis says he gets no joy from Scientology defections

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Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis is joining the Canadian Film Centre to help up-and-coming movie-makers. The CFC announced Monday morning that Haggis will serve as chair of the centre's film programs. Haggis poses for a photograph in Toronto on Thursday, November 18, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO - Paul Haggis says he's been told that his high-profile rebuke of Scientology has prompted other followers to leave the controversial church.

But the Oscar-winning filmmaker insists he didn't set out to encourage others to leave the faith, which boasts several influential Hollywood devotees including Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

"It's a personal decision for me and if other people want to make a personal decision that's up to them too. I'm not on some crusade," said the 58-year-old filmmaker, who condemned the church in a lengthy magazine article earlier this year.

"I think we all have to live by our own codes and I was trying to live by mine and others can live by theirs."

The acclaimed director was in Toronto on Monday to lead a master class for film and television students at the Canadian Film Centre, which announced that Haggis had been named the new chairman of its film programs.

The role means that Haggis will deliver at least one master class a year at the training centre, which has helped launch the careers of Canuck talent including Clement Virgo, Sarah Polley, Vincenzo Natali and Don McKellar.

Haggis said it was an honour to accept the job and contribute to the legacy of filmmaker Norman Jewison, who founded the CFC.

"And you can never say no to Norman," Haggis adds. "He's an incredible filmmaker and a hero of mine so whatever he asks me to do I just say, 'Yes.'"

Raised in London, Ont., Haggis became the first screenwriter to pen back-to-back Oscar winners with 2004's "Million Dollar Baby" and 2005's "Crash," which he also directed. Other writing credits include "Flags of our Fathers" and "Casino Royale."

Haggis said his current project is an original script titled "Third Person."

"It's about relationships and the questions that I struggle with," he says. "(It's about) what a relationship is and how to be in one."

He adds that the story centres on "three relationships that are intertwined in a very odd way" and would feature a sprawling cast involving nine main characters.

"I always look for things that are disturbing, whether it's something personal or social, political. Something that troubles me and a question I can't answer. And when I find that I usually know I've got something to write. And then how to write it, well who knows, that's a whole different thing," he says chuckling.

Despite his willingness to tackle difficult topics, Haggis said he's not interested in writing a movie about religion or his troubles with Scientology, which he left in 2009.

"I don't think it's that interesting," he said, nevertheless admitting that the larger issues he wrestled with in his dealings with the church could emerge in future scripts.

"We always pull from things that you deal with, you just don't know how they're going to come out."

Haggis detailed his complaints with the church in a New Yorker article posted online in February. The 25,000-word piece outlined how Haggis had ascended "all the way to the top" of the religion, founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952.

Haggis said he became disillusioned when his daughter Katy was allegedly ostracized after coming out as a lesbian, when his wife was allegedly ordered to cut contact with her parents after they left the church, and when he came across news reports alleging church executives were physically violent with members.

Soon after the article came out, Haggis said several people turned their backs on him and he lost at least one friend over his comments.

On Monday, Haggis said it was difficult to know whether his sharp remarks also had any effect on his career.

"It's impossible to tell, isn't it?" said Haggis, who lives in New York.

"Everything is a struggle in this business so getting your film financed, getting the next project going is always a struggle. No one's going to ride up and say, 'Listen I didn't like what you wrote, or I didn't like what you said and therefore I'm not going to do blankity blank.' But I'm not worried. There's a lot of people who have spoken out about different things in this world and they do just fine."

Comedy filmmaker David Frankel, whose films include "Marley & Me" and "The Devil Wears Prada," hosts the CFC's next master class on Tuesday at TIFF Bell Lightbox.