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

Because many advances have happened, we've lost the urgency (and that's just human nature) that we had before, when we couldn't vote, couldn't use mass transportation, or drink from the fountains.

I like to work with the same people when I can, and you want to get people with the same interests that you have, and the same aesthetic.

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

I'm not the go-to guy. Everybody is trying to tell their story and have different ways of telling it.

Amongst black people, you have always heard it said that once a black man reaches a certain level, especially if you are an entertainer, you get a white trophy woman. I didn't make that up.

I am a hybrid. I do independent films and also do Hollywood films - I love them both.