Maybe my work looks a little crazy, a little insane, but I don't really see myself as a crazy artist or a shaman artist.

I think it was so unfair that people attacked Freida Pinto for being an Indian, playing a Palestinian.

I don't think the meaning in my paintings comes from just using broken dishes.

When I made my first film, Basquiat, I think one of the criticisms was that the way I work is episodic. Later, as people started to look at the movies, they started to realize that maybe that's my style. If I could do it better or another way, I guess I would.

It's a great excuse and luxury, having a job and blaming it for your inability to do your own art. When you don't have to work, you are left with the horror of facing your own lack of imagination and your own emptiness. A devastating possibility when finally time is your own.

The movie [Miral] is not pro-Palestinian. It's about Palestinians. It's a Palestinian story, written by a Palestinian person. I don't know anybody else that could have done that

It's nice to see your name in print. It's interesting.