Spike Lee Quotes

Everything I do is always scrutinised. But that's all I'll say about that.

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

And one thing Hollywood does well is sequels.

I'll be vilified if I shoot a film in Toronto for New York. And rightfully so!

Our greatness, our talent has never been the question. It's been a matter of grappling for control over what we do.

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 spine to my films that's become more evident to me is that many are about the choices people make, and the reverberations of those choices. You go this way, or that way, and either way, there's going to be consequences.

I wouldn't be doing motherfu**ing films for almost three decades if every time I did something that someone didn't like I went in a fu**ing cocoon and just hid there and didn't make my art.

I don't dictate, you don't dictate to Stevie Wonder, not successfully.

I'm just trying to tell a good story and make thought-provoking, entertaining films. I just try and draw upon the great culture we have as a people, from music, novels, the streets.

I am very fortunate I can send my kids to private school, but everybody does not have the money. If you cannot get your kid in a good school today, your kids are going to be behind the eight ball.

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

Critics like to build you up, tear you down, and then, if you're lucky, build you up again.

I think the best actors in the world are here in New York City. And this city is just so vibrant the energy is just phenomenal. Great crews here. All the technicians, all the artists that work in this industry. I've just been very happy with the body that we've been able to do, especially those films we shot here in New York City.

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?

Don't think that because you haven't heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. I am still here, like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest.

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