I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.

I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can't just sit back and let other people define our existence.

There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.

I'm just trying to tell a good story and make thought-provoking, entertaining films. I just try and draw upon the great culture we have as a people, from music, novels, the streets.

I think it is very important that films make people look at what they've forgotten.

It gets dangerous when you start allowing people to validate your work.

Don't think that because you haven't heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. I am still here, like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest.

When you love something it's not a job anymore.

All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love.

American slavery was not a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It was a holocaust. My ancestors are slaves. Stolen from Africa. I will honor them.

I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect.

You learn to write by writing, and by reading and thinking about how writers have created their characters and invented their stories. If you are not a reader, don't even think about being a writer.

We can overcome the uncertainties in life with courage and hope.

Most people regarded Psychology as a science. Some called it a soft science, but those making such a distinction grew fewer by the year.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.

Ignorance is less remote from the truth than prejudice.

It takes close attention to see what is happening in front of you. It takes work, pious effort, to see what you are looking at.

When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic-what defines a human being-is to work with others.

I'm usually up at 6 A.M., even on the weekend.

Behaviors and feelings rarely line up

Is the Jewish race thriftier than the Arab race?