It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.

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.

I live in New York City, the stories of my films take place in New York; I'm a New York filmmaker.

Any time you talk about the look of the film, it's not just the director and the director of photography. You have to include the costume designer and the production designer.

It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.

Right now a lot of people are still choosing to go to Toronto instead of shooting in New York City, something I haven't done and something I hope I'll never have to do.

A lot of times, we censor ourselves before the censor even gets there.

Violence is a part of America. I don't want to single out rap music. Let's be honest. America's the most violent country in the history of the world, that's just the way it is. We're all affected by it.

Any film I do is not going to change the way black women have been portrayed, or black people have been portrayed, in cinema since the days of D.W. Griffith.

I think my work shows that I love women. I understand where these types of criticisms are coming from because black people have been so dogged out in the media, they're just extra sensitive.

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

I think it is very important that films make people look at what they've forgotten.

My cousin Malcolm Lee is also a filmmaker.

I like to work with the same people when I can, and you want to get people with the same interests that you have, and the same aesthetic.

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.

Fight the power that be. Fight the power.

All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love.

There's a lot of Americans, black and white, who think that we've arrived where we need to be and nothing else needs to be done and affirmative action needs to be dismantled.

I get offered to do stuff where the money's nice but it's not something I want to do - I get offered a lot of commercials too.

Since the days of slavery, if you were a good singer or dancer, it was your job to perform for the master after dinner.

I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect.

If we became students of Malcolm X, we would not have young black men out there killing each other like they're killing each other now. Young black men would not be impregnating young black women at the rate going on now. We'd not have the drugs we have now, or the alcoholism.

There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.

We grew up in a very creative environment and were exposed to the arts at a very young age, so it's not a surprise that all of us are in some form of the arts.

I'd like to state that Spike Lee is not saying that African American culture is just for black people alone to enjoy and cherish. Culture is for everybody.

I always give the example, if you turn on the radio today, black radio, Lenny Kravitz is not black. Bob Marley wasn't black: in the beginning, only white college stations played Bob Marley.

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.

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

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

'Do the Right Thing' was like the first film where I really felt comfortable working with actors.

'Do the Right Thing' was my first union film. I looked at the rosters, and for the most part, it was white males. Especially the Teamsters. So we had some conversations.

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.

And one thing Hollywood does well is sequels.

First of all, what in this world does not revolve around money? But money is a big part of film, unlike a lot of other art forms.

I am a hybrid. I do independent films and also do Hollywood films - I love them both.

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 don't get tripped up in technology. I use technology as a tool. 'Oldboy' we shot Two Pro 35mm. For 'Da Blood of Jesus,' we shot digitally. We shot the new Sony F55. It's a 4K camera.

I don't like acting; not in front of the camera.

I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films.

I had a great education. From kindergarten to John Dewey High School in Coney Island, I am public-school educated.

I tend to favour films that have multiple plot and story lines, multiple characters and ensemble pieces.

I think that anyone who lives in New York, who's lived here, who's spent any time here, knows that it's basically a love-hate relationship, you might say. Even though I still think it's the greatest city in the world and I wouldn't live anywhere else, there're still things about it one doesn't like. The love far outweighs the negative.

I think that every minority in the United States of America knows everything about the dominant culture. From the time you can think, you are bombarded with images from TV, film, magazines, newspapers.

I'm blessed, I can afford to send my children to private school.

I'm very careful about how I portray violence in my films. I do believe that violence, especially violent video games, are not a good thing for young kids.

I've been blessed with the opportunity to express the views of black people who otherwise don't have access to power and the media. I have to take advantage of that while I'm still bankable.

It has been my observation that parents kill more dreams than anybody.

Making films has got to be one of the hardest endeavors known to humankind.

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.