It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.

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.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

Our eyes only see the big dimensions, but beyond those there are others that escape detection because they are so small.

I read a lot of summaries about the story [ based on the Cyrano de Bergerac. ]. I also watched Roxanne, the movie starring Steve Martin.

Michael, if you can't pass, you can't play.

When you're playing a fictional character reacting to the real world, it's incredibly difficult and confusing and kind of messes with your values a bit.

The cheapest, fastest, and most reliable components are those that aren't there.

I accredit animals for keeping me going when times were bad.

Discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it.

It was the bumble bee and the butterfly who survived, not the dinosaur.

The world is tired of seeing the perpetuation of violence and terrorism, but the effort to create a real peace needs to go hand in hand with the struggle to restore justice.