I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.

I couldn't adjust to the racism in Florida.

I was born two months early, and everyone had given up on me. But my mother insisted on my life.

An appreciable number of directors have shifted to lower-cost films, allowing them to be satisfied with a more modest return.

So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it's a positive one.

I know how easy it is for one to stay well within moral, ethical, and legal bounds through the skillful use of words - and to thereby spin, sidestep, circumvent, or bend a truth completely out of shape. To that extent, we are all liars on numerous occasions.

As a man, I've been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.