My mother enjoyed few things more than investing in the underdogs and showing them that they were special and could achieve their dreams.

I don't think there's enough breadth to the stories told about African-Americans.

I was always writing scripts, and I had made several shorts, before and after film school. But I worked a variety of temp positions over the years.

I don't have to go into outer space to write about an astronaut.

My M.F.A was in directing, and all the films I've made, for film school and after, I've written, directed and shot.

It's always healthy to be taken down a notch, even though it's humbling.

The brutality that can take place in a crime film heightens the tenderness that can also be there.