For writer-director Paul Haggis, a career in Hollywood has been hard won. Years spent writing for awful sitcoms and seeing pet projects get summarily axed by networks for poor ratings despite good quality eventually led to a rebirth in film. The Oscar nomination he received for penning “Million Dollar Baby” (2004), the underdog tale of a determined female boxer who overcomes pain and loss both inside and outside the ring, marked his resurgence as a potent creative force after his career in television appeared to have stalled. Mining personal troubles for creative material may have helped: