You hear it said time and time again by successful directors: You have to make a movie for yourself. Don't make it for anyone else. My style of filmmaking happens to be give the audience what they know they don't want, but they want. Ultimately I have to write and direct in a way that let's just say, you don't want to regret making a choice.

With a horror movie, you're making a metaphor. You're making a personalized nightmare for the protagonist.

We haven't done enough work to encourage minorities to strive to make movies. Hollywood is a place full of white male directors - there are many good ones. We just haven't nurtured our voices.

A greater truth that I think we are faced with on a day-to-day basis as minorities is: We are the color of skin first and people second.

When people get together, we are capable of the most beautiful, amazing things. But we are also capable of genocide.

I've been very lucky to have a family who has welcomed me and not been hung up on anything racial, almost overlooking the fact that there was a racial difference. But I can honestly say I do feel like I missed out on some lessons of what the African-American experience is like growing up.

What teenagers are ready to laugh at is the misery of other people.