It is very important to support what you believe in.

I became a filmmaker because I wanted to deal with issues that intrigued me, that I thought were pertinent, that would start dialogue.

There's an anxiety of wanting to please the studios. You want to prove to them that you can do it and sometimes you might jump at a project that you're not totally passionate about.

If you cast an all-white movie and it doesn't do well, no one will say it's because you had an all-white cast.

If you put forth a really diverse cast and you fight for it and it doesn't do well - and it may fail for other reasons - you're gone because you stuck your neck out for that decision.

I feel like every time you get to make a sequel, it's a privilege. It means that people have embraced it and want the journey to continue.

I think ultimately that sense of hope is something that even as a little kid I was able to kind of grab onto.