Every African-American I know has two faces. There's the face that we have for ourselves and the face we put on for white America for the places we have to get to.

I'm not tough when it comes to people criticizing the people that I protect, and those are the actors. It makes them scared to do it again for another director.

I like all my work equally. I look at the projects as children. I look at the experience more than the end result.

I don't want to sell my soul to Hollywood - to just make run-of-the-mill stuff.

I embrace the criticism, because ultimately (it means) the masses have seen it [my movie]. I embrace it for my father's story, for my mother's story, for my auntie, for my grandmother, who all got their teeth knocked out so I could be [where I am].

I've dodged all sorts of bullets in Hollywood to get my movies made. I'm tough.

Every African-American I know has two faces. There's the face that we have for ourselves and the face we put on for white America for the places we have to get to.