You have to do the research. If you don't know about something, then you ask the right people who do.

I think it would be very boring dramatically to have a film where everybody was a lawyer or doctor and had no faults. To me, the most important thing is to be truthful.

You know that first of all your films have to make money no matter who you are.

As a people we do not need anyone else's stamp of approval.

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.

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?

Since the days of slavery, if you were a good singer or dancer, it was your job to perform for the master after dinner.