I want young people to ask me if I'm serious. Our young people have been lied to and misled for so long. When I stand on this soapbox, I want young people to ask me that because once they know I'm serious, they'll be willing to ride with me.

I don't want to be a leader that is one-dimensional or two-dimensional because he's not willing to be open.

When you're in a relationship with someone you have to be in control of that relationship and you have to be as open as you can about everything, straight up, out the gate.

I think chemistry and great acting go hand-in-hand.

I prefer to make movies which not only have a message for "then" but a message for "now."

If a director, I believe, has vision and knows so clearly what they want, then you can have a film that can perform. Whereas you can have done 50 movies, but if you're unsure this time, your movie may not turn out.

We have such a knee-jerk reaction to our young people, not recognizing our young people carry the torch. We condemn them for their hats worn a certain way or their hoodie worn a certain way, or their pants sagging a certain way, but the reality is, we need to meet them where they stand. We need to arm them with what they need to fight, and then we need to get the hell out the way and let them lead. That is something that is not happening in our communities.