I'm highly political. I spend an awful lot of time in the U.S. trying to influence decision-makers. But I don't feel in tune with British politics.

One time I introduced my orchestra as the Shampoo Music Makers instead of the Champagne Music Makers.

We are the music makers. We are the dreamers of the dream.

I think filmmakers want their movies to be seen.

If you look at anybody who's had along career if you look at the choices they've made - even if the movies haven't worked - they've always worked with great filmmakers.

The more unique your film is and unusual it is and difficult it is the harder it is to get it financed. That's why a lot of good filmmakers are doing television. They do HBO movies.

I'm not one of those actors where filmmakers that I admire ask me to be in their movies. I meet them at parties and they're nice to me but they never ask me to work with them.

Other filmmakers make their movies and put them out and that's that. For me for some odd reason it goes deeper than that.

In anything I've ever written all the characters sound like me which I don't think is a bad thing. It makes sense. But I had always admired filmmakers who made movies that didn't sound like them at all.

I don't think people have been able to deal with the fact that African American filmmakers can make movies about life and relationships.