I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can't just sit back and let other people define our existence.

A lot of times you get credit for stuff in your movies you didn't intend to be there.

I like people to look like they're floating.

I knew I was never going to play professional sport, but I loved playing and I went to all the games I could afford to.

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.

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.

When you love something it's not a job anymore.