I still get a lot of material but I find that as one gets older you get more fussy. You know you're going spend a year or a year and a half on this and you know there are only so many films in you so you get a little bit more selective.

Obviously, In The Heat Of The Night was a landmark movie because the timing was perfect. It was in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.

When you shoot a musical, you're shooting to lipsynch tracks, so we had to figure out our choreography and work out what we wanted to do with each number before we did it.

When the small independent film, which depends on its artistic appeal rather than wide commercial distribution by an MPAA member, is now denied access, the playing field becomes unfair and uneven.

Look, I'm just a storyteller. When I make a film, I never want the film to become a vehicle of social propaganda.

We live in an age of publicity and hype. There's something about success that dehumanizes you, whereas failure reminds you of who you really are.

I still get a lot of material but I find that as one gets older you get more fussy. You know you're going spend a year or a year and a half on this and you know there are only so many films in you so you get a little bit more selective.