I'm an American, but being a black American, my experience is a particular one, my struggles have been particular.
— Bill Duke
The thing about Robin Givens as an actress is that she doesn't back away from anything.
My favorite filmmaker is Frank Capra. He talked about the redemption of the human spirit - not the superhero, but the common man.
Pain has no color.
I don't say, 'Francis Ford Coppola, what a wonderful Italian-American director.' I judge him based on his film, his craft, his art. That's the way I feel I should be dealt with in this industry.
How can you compare 'Hollywood Shuffle,' financed through the director's credit cards, and 'Apocalypse Now?' You have to take into consideration the conditions under which it was made.
I don't want to exclusively direct white films, or black films. I want to have a choice.
Dreams that are planned are called frustration.
I didn't come up in a culture or society that looked on me as a movie star. I was the bad guy. I was fortunate enough to be cast in some roles that weren't bad, were positive.
I don't think God makes mistakes and I think that women have to not rely on men to define their worth.
There is no reason why excellent pictures can't be made for $4-5 million.
Part of the training you get in theater is that you're never going to give up.
I saw the things that my sister went through - she's dark skinned - with boys not considering her attractive in her youth and the pain that it caused her.
I love great writing.
Never... never... whether you are five or 100, never give up. It's never too late.
Acting takes courage.
I could direct a very decent Holocaust film, but I don't have the same experience as a young boy who was rocked to sleep in the lap of a grandmother who had a tattooed number on her arm, who told him stories of the people who disappeared, the relatives she never saw again, as he drifted off with his cheek nestled next to that number.
It really upsets me that the media insists on turning 'Do the Right Thing' or 'Boyz N the Hood' into 'black films.' They are American films. They may open the window on the black experience, but they had things to say to everybody. That's why they were so successful.
I'm a very private person, not much of a party person. That's how I keep my sanity.
My parents taught me that it is my responsibility to make sacrifices for those after me.
Some people you can forgive and forget. Some people you cannot forgive or forget. There are other people you can forgive and not forget. So there's people you can forgive and forget. Forgive and not forget. It depends on what they've done.
Without understanding your history, you can't get a perspective about the present.
Television is a producers' medium. There is a formula with a certain number of closeups for each show.
What I really plan to do is take the best scripts I get and consider them seriously. I can actually work as an actor and prepare a film as a director.
AIDS is a very, very, very vicious disease, particularly in the black community.
Well, in the '80s and '70s, with the exception of Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters, maybe Ivan Dixon, if you were as big and black as I am, you were a bad guy. Simple. Because in real life, I scare people.
We need people with foresight who are willing to make films with smaller budgets and accept smaller profits.
I'm hoping to see some minorities in executive offices in positions of power, people who see the merit of projects with minority themes. That may or may not happen.
I had studied at the NYU School of the Arts under Lloyd Richards, who also worked with the Negro Ensemble Company.
On the way from church one day when my sister and I were 7 or 8, I was beaten by some white bikers.
It's very important that we give a voice to the voiceless in terms of media; because media is a global phenom and it portrays you dependent upon what controls you have and the writers are doing great work.
You determine your reality.
I think that some actors who make it in Hollywood are very talented. There are some of my heroes, the Meryl Streeps of the world, a lot of people that I love their work but I think a lot of it is luck, looks, strategic alliances and relationships, your agent and a lot of business components.
Appropriation is a fact of life; no point in complaining about it. But if that's the way the game's being played, let's do it on both sides. I don't want some white guy making 'A Rage in Harlem III' if I can't do 'The Godfather V' or 'E.T. III.'
I'm not interested in making 'black' movies. I'm interested in making movies that reflect reality as I perceive it.
I meditate twice a day, T.M., and do yoga and tai chi.
Our internal racism is still alive. We are still putting each other down and making jokes about each other because of the color of our skin. With women particularly, it's difficult because the beauty business says, 'If you don't look a certain way, God made a mistake.'
My parents never let the color of our skin be an excuse for why we did not succeed.
It's very difficult to direct something and do it well. But to direct and act - it's very hard.
I was the first black director on 'Dallas.' I drove my car into the studio lot and the guard asked me who I was delivering to.
Television is an excellent training ground for a director. If you work consistently in television, as I did, you have to come in on time and on budget. What you are allowed in feature films are, fortunately, more time and a larger budget.
I enjoyed 'Predator' a lot, and also 'Get Rich and Die Tryin'.' I really enjoyed that role and playing the O.G.
No individual should rely on any other human being or system to define their worth as a human being. You have to begin to find that within yourself.
The only chance for a guy like me is to make a decent picture for a reasonable budget. If it brings in a profit for investors, maybe I'll have the opportunity to make something else.
Pain is pain.
I don't have all the answers. I'm just supposed to present what I think is an issue and have dialogue start.
I come up in a segregated 1943 atmosphere of segregation.
It's great working with great writers and directors because you're getting paid for something you love and want to do.
Meryl Streep doesn't care how she looks. She just surrenders to the truth of the character. Not everybody has the ability to do that. They look good and they can pretend to be that person, it's not the same as being that person. And there are not many actors who will surrender to that.
My agent makes 10% of what you make. When your agent tells you to take a vacation, you know you're exhausted.
