I'm surprised that Hollywood and networks have not been diverse as other industries.

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.

The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.

And it is always Easter Sunday at the New York City Ballet. It is always coming back to life. Not even coming back to life - it lives in the constant present.

Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise.

To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.

Am I crazy or falling in love? Is it really just another crush?

I have no beliefs of a religious kind.

When a man thinks he is reading the character of another, he is often unconsciously betraying his own.

You have to control, focus and temper the strength. Uncontrolled strength is usually an explosion. Sometimes on the other hand let it explode and pick up the pieces.

In fact, I think more broadly about what an audience requires, but I want an audience to be fascinated by the process of finding an answer, or finding out there isn't one.