I was always intrigued with European cinema, and hated most American cinema. I didn’t like the one, two, three – boom! style, with a neat and tidy ending. That was never my scene.

When I make movies, I don’t ever go out there to please anyone other than myself. I never try to make a film for the masses. I just try to tell my story.

When people don’t like the film, I can take a bullet. I don’t mind you talking about me, but I’m protective of my actors, because they bared their soul for me.

Stars make money on real movies. They make big money on real movies. To come into my world, I’ve got some M&Ms and some potato chips, and I’m asking you to move furniture.

I don’t want to sell my soul to Hollywood – to just make run-of-the-mill stuff.

Every African-American I know has two faces. There’s the face that we have for ourselves and the face we put on for white America for the places we have to get to.