I live in New York City, the stories of my films take place in New York; I'm a New York filmmaker.

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.

Life teaches us two important things - we are careless when we are young and by the time we get old, it is too late to be careful!!

Feed the mind good wisdom, the body good nutrition, the soul good vibes, and the heart good love. Elevation for your situation.

I had a dream about you… but I don’t know you…who are you?

Why, he wondered, was it so hard to see humankind as capable of creating miracles? Miracles were just second chances if you really thought about it-second chances when all hope was lost.

A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country.

With any work worth its salt, you have to trust the author enough to take its measure. And if you apply too many preconceptions, you are not taking its measure.

Can our Society meet the Challenge of a Technological Future?

If two people agree, one of them is unnecessary.

Doubt begets understanding, and understanding begets compassion. Verily, it is conviction that kills.

The power of nature is what all art strives to be. The more we can get in tune with the harmony of the planet, the more our art can benefit from that relationship.