Haggis

Paul Haggis Found Guilty In Rape Trial ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia ) Paul Haggis lost his civil rape trial after a New York jury found the Oscar-winning director liable on charges that he sexually assaulted a former film publicist after a movie premiere nearly a decade ago. Haggis was found liable on all three counts of rape and sexual abuse, reports ‘Variety’. The jury deliberated for nearly six hours and the unanimous jury of four men and two women awarded the plaintiff Haleigh Breest $7.5 million in compensation…

On Thursday, a jury ordered Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis to pay at least $7.5 million to a woman who accused him of rape in one of several #MeToo-era cases that have put Hollywood notables’ behavior on trial this fall. The jury also decided that additional punitive damages should be awarded, but the amount is to be decided later. Veering from sex to red carpet socializing to Scientology, the civil court trial pitted Haggis—known for writing best picture Oscar winners Million Dollar Baby…

A jury ordered Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis to pay at least $7.5 million to a woman, who accused him of rape in one of several #MeToo cases that have put Hollywood notables’ behaviour on trial this fall. Also Read: `Batman` voice actor Kevin Conroy passes away at 66 The jury also decided that additional punitive damages should be awarded, but the amount is to be decided later. Also Read: Chris Evans is `secretly dating` 25-year-old Portuguese actress Alba Baptista This story has been…

Disputing allegations in a rape lawsuit, Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis testified Thursday that his accuser sometimes seemed “conflicted” during their initial kisses but then started taking initiative. Taking the witness stand for a second day in a civil trial, Haggis portrayed the woman, Haleigh Breest, as a willing partner in their lone sexual interaction. Breest, 36, testified earlier in the civil trial that she repeatedly and clearly told Haggis, 69, that she wasn’t interested in sex…

Paul Haggis choked up and wiped away tears while finishing his defense Friday from the witness stand against a civil trial rape claim by a publicist. Haggis, 69, reached for tissues after his lawyer finished questioning him a final time following cross examination that began Thursday and stretched into Friday afternoon. After three days of testimony, the winner of Oscars for Crash and Million Dollar Baby was emotional as he described himself as “a very flawed human being.” He also said he…

Filmmaker Paul Haggis’ defense sought Friday to undermine the credibility of a publicist who accused him of rape, with his attorneys suggesting a whiff of romantic interest in communications that his accuser says were just professionally friendly gestures. Cross-examining Haleigh Breest at the trial of her rape lawsuit, defense attorney Priya Chaudhry also challenged the accuser’s account of feeling trapped during the 2013 encounter in Haggis’ apartment. Breest says the screenwriter-director…

He was a famous moviemaker. She was a publicist working a film premiere where he was a VIP guest. He’d offered her a lift home and then invited her to his apartment for a drink. And now screenwriter-director Paul Haggis had abruptly tried to kiss her, backed her into his refrigerator, and had a question for her, accuser Haleigh Breest told a jury Thursday. “Are you scared of me?” he asked, according to her testimony. And so began, Breest said, a sexual assault that ended with the Oscar…

Early to rise? On tour, you often don’t know what day of the week it is, so it depends how much I had to drink the night before. I do love that feeling of seeing an empty Sunday morning town or city. But who am I kidding? Most Sundays I like a wee bit of a lie-in.Sunday grub? Breakfast feels like a treat, as if you’ve got permission to go overboard. I love a good fry-up. To go really Scottish, add a slice of fried haggis. My favourite part is the mushrooms, but don’t just ram them in the pan. Fry sparingly and only turn…

An Italian judge has called for the sexual abuse case against Paul Haggis to be tossed out, ruling there are no grounds to further pursue an investigation against the Oscar-winning director. The judge in the Southern Italian city of Lecce called for the investigation against Haggis to be dismissed late Friday, the Italian news Agency ANSA reported Saturday. Earlier, an appellate court ruled in Haggis’ favor, rejecting an attempt by prosecutors to reinstate house arrest for Haggis while the investigation…

Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis has given his first interview since being arrested in Italy over allegations of sexual assault.Haggis, who is best known as the director of the 2005 Best Picture winner Crash, has strongly denied the accusations.He was first arrested on 19 June in the town of Ostuni, in the southern Italian region of Puglia. A woman who had joined him there had accused him of sexually assaulting her over two days.Prosecutors claim Haggis then went with the woman to Brindisi airport and abandoned her in…