Paul Haggis cowrote and directed Crash. In 2004 he was nominated for an Oscar® for his adapted screenplay for Million Dollar Baby.

When he wrote the screenplay for Crash, Paul says he thought he would never get Hollywood to accept this difficult and frank exploration of race and racism. And, if it somehow managed to get made, he thought it would be largely ignored.

Now that it's been made and so positively received, what is Paul's reaction to the level of response?

"Shocked, stunned," he says. "When we were sitting in my living room and Don [Cheadle] said, 'I thought we'd be lucky to get it made. And then a few people would see it and get a little attention, maybe, and that would be it.' But, not like this. It's crazy!"