I'm trying to keep up with what's happening in this turbulent world.

I tend to favour films that have multiple plot and story lines, multiple characters and ensemble pieces.

What's the difference between Hollywood characters and my characters? Mine are real.

Any time you talk about the look of the film, it's not just the director and the director of photography. You have to include the costume designer and the production designer.

My grandmother lived to be 100 years old. Her grandmother was a slave, yet she was a college graduate in the Spellman class of 1917. She taught art for 50 years and she saved her Social Security checks for her children's education.

You gotta make your own way. You gotta find a way. You gotta get it done. It's hard. It's tough. That's what I tell my students every day in class. I've been very fortunate. Some people might call me a hardhead, but I'm not going to let other people dictate to me who I should be or the stories I should tell. That doesn't register with me.

Racism in America absolutely exists - it is an issue. We need to fix it. We're a great country - probably the greatest country but we could be a hell of a lot greater.