It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.

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

I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films.

And one thing Hollywood does well is sequels.

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

I respect the audience's intelligence a lot, and that's why I don't try to go for the lowest common denominator.

Right now a lot of people are still choosing to go to Toronto instead of shooting in New York City, something I haven't done and something I hope I'll never have to do.