It's kind of dangerous to cut in the camera, but that's the only way I know how to direct.

Making this movie was a great opportunity for me to explore high-definition. I'm glad I got to see what the challenges are, what makes it better. It works wonderfully.

The clothes back in those days were made so much better than clothes are today. They actually took time to make clothes to fit a woman's body. Today they make clothes that fit sizes, so it stretches to fit this and that.

The radio for these women is like television is for us today, which is really like looking at the radio.

A director just pushes them a little this way or that way.

But it was not possible to do this movie, in this matter of time, without a solid rehearsal period.

In scoring we have a lot that was not evident in the shooting. The radio is on all the time.

The biggest challenge was that we had to shoot so quickly and with such a limited budget.

I use something that is a real staple in the directing world. It's called a dance floor. You lay it down so that it's so smooth you can roll around, and you can put furniture on top of it. It's seamless and you don't see it.

It's kind of dangerous to cut in the camera, but that's the only way I know how to direct.

You have to examine a scene on the page first. Then you get into the basics of acting: Who are you? Who are you talking to? How do you feel about that person?

There are some scenes that work beautifully in a moving, sweeping master, which is how I like to work.

Even when you have a big budget, you can't just shoot everything.

As far as pacing the shoot is concerned, I know when I've got it. I don't think there's any reason to take ten takes unless you need them.

That's the only way I can control my movie. If you shoot everything, then everything is liable to end up in the movie. If you have a vision, you don't have to cover every scene.

Michael Ralph brilliantly plays the street prophet, a West Indian who foreshadows the Harlem riot.

The riot isn't seen in the movie, but it is alluded to. He has this one speech that gives a great sense of texture and paints a picture of what was happening in Harlem then.

Everything has to be well thought out - what do you really need, when can you do with less coverage.

Time management is a big part of the director's job.

The production team's first meeting took place at my house. I had ideas and a color scheme in mind, how I wanted the movie to look, because that has to be a real collaboration.

It goes back to a style of moviemaking I remember seeing as a child, in movies like The Man With The Golden Arm, which I think was shot all on a sound stage.

But out of limitations comes creativity.

I got my dailies every day, although I couldn't always look at them because I was usually preparing for the next day's shoot, both as an actress and as the director.

I'm always moving forward.

I design my shots. I walk the rehearsal as the camera and say 'this is where I want to be... I want this look.

I didn't need the insurance. I do it again if my DP tells me it didn't look good in the camera or if the actors didn't hit their marks. But if everything was working why do it again?

Some people become fully discouraged in life because of their series of mistakes and failures while others succeed by consistently learning from theirs.

I would, without any hesitation, shoot a violent criminal again.

You see, the poverty program for the last five years have been buy-off programs.

I am not eloquent.

I'm a strong advocate for music. I think guitars are wonderful.

If you are going a long way go slowly.

It's like night and day... to do business, in Europe, there is no bull, they are pretty straightforward.

I do not see Windows Phones anywhere in the world except Seattle.

It's too heart-wrenching doing the solo thing. I throw myself into it and get so excited, and then 2000 people buy it and you're, like, 'Oh. I guess it's not that good after all.'

I don't go out that often. I'm not going to clubs or anything.

My appreciation for cooking and healthy living came from watching my best friend die from liver cancer in 2008. I realized that I needed to make some big changes if I wanted to be around for a long time, so now I'm more cautious of how much I eat, what I'm eating, and how often.

During the fall and winter we built Fort Meade and the town of Sturgis.

Ever since I was a little kid, whenever my parents would have company over, I would put on shows, whether they would be magic shows, singing shows, dancing shows, little skits.

There's a hunger in me that always wants to be creating and orating, telling people something and giving them information and getting feedback. There are so many questions that I'm trying to ask, and I'm still so far from being done saying what I gotta say.

We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.

No salesman can ever guarantee you a grant from any government or non-profit organization.

You perform for a different audience each night. People who don't understand just think that you go out there every night and do the same thing, but you don't - you have to find out who they are and give it to them.

Religious dogma creates a perfect fertilizer for the weeds of hypocrisy.

Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth We are happy when we are growing.

I've always had a glam squad to do my makeup because of Miss India and Miss World, so I never really learned much about doing it myself, unfortunately. I do try to pick up what I can, though! The most incredible product that has ever been discovered in makeup, according to me, is mascara.

I think my father was somewhat disappointed in not having had a son, and in that way I was the nearest thing he had.

The only advantage of the CD is that you have a booklet that can tell a bit of a story, but the little covers are just boring. I love vinyl, and I have loads of it. It's the same thing as digital photography versus film photography. It's a quality thing.

Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher did more to liberate people by defeating the Soviet Union and freeing eastern Europe than the Obamas, the Clintons, and Kerrys of this world ever have. They were all on the wrong side of that debate.