Violence is a part of America. I don't want to single out rap music. Let's be honest. America's the most violent country in the history of the world, that's just the way it is. We're all affected by it.

There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.

One of the great things about African-Americans is that we've always had this attitude: We make do with what we got. It comes from our ancestors being slaves.

I ain't Martin Luther King. I don't need a dream. I have a plan.

We’ve gone through the names—Negro, African American, African, Black. For me that’s an indication of a people still trying to find their identity. Who determines what is black?

He revolutionized music videos. Before Michael Jackson, MTV refused to play African-American artists.

I live in New York City, the stories of my films take place in New York; I'm a New York filmmaker.