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" A lot of times, we censor ourselves before the censor even gets there. "
Spike Lee
Even
Before
Censor
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" 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. "
Spike Lee
Big
Art
Film
" I'm riding my man Obama. I think he's a visionary. Actually, Barack told me the first date he took Michelle to was 'Do the Right Thing.' I said, Thank God I made it. Otherwise you would have taken her to 'Soul Man.' Michelle would have been like 'What's wrong with this brother?' "
Spike Lee
Brother
Man
God
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Now
Men
Black
" All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love. "
Spike Lee
Motivation
Love
Wanted
" '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. "
Spike Lee
Film
Do The Right Thing
Right
" My cousin Malcolm Lee is also a filmmaker. "
Spike Lee
Lee
Also
Malcolm
" I'm blessed, I can afford to send my children to private school. "
Spike Lee
Children
Blessed
Afford
" You have to do the research. If you don't know about something, then you ask the right people who do. "
Spike Lee
Ask
Know
People
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Think
Action
Black
" When I went to school, you had to take art, you had to play an instrument. You had to play an instrument. But it's all degraded since then. I do not know what kind of nation we are that is cutting art, music, and gym out of the public-school curriculum. "
Spike Lee
School
You
Music
" '25th Hour,' like a lot of my films, takes place in New York City. I've been very fortunate to make films in the city that I live. I mean, it's great going home at night instead of being on location. "
Spike Lee
Night
City
Great
" 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. "
Spike Lee
People
City
Done
" People sometimes forget all the films that we've done. They remember the likes of 'Malcolm X' and 'Do the Right Thing.' But I've been working since 1986. From the beginning, I was determined to not just be a flash in the pan. I've got to keep up with Woody Allen. He's lapping me. "
Spike Lee
Beginning
People
Do The Right Thing
" I don't like acting; not in front of the camera. "
Spike Lee
Front
Acting
Camera
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Today
Good
I Am
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Women
Black
Change
" Making films has got to be one of the hardest endeavors known to humankind. "
Spike Lee
Known
Got
Endeavors
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Women
People
Media
" I tend to favour films that have multiple plot and story lines, multiple characters and ensemble pieces. "
Spike Lee
Plot
Lines
Ensemble
" 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. "
Spike Lee
You
Perfect
Law
" 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. "
Spike Lee
You
Today
College
" And one thing Hollywood does well is sequels. "
Spike Lee
One Thing
Well
Hollywood
" I don't dictate, you don't dictate to Stevie Wonder, not successfully. "
Spike Lee
Dictate
Stevie Wonder
Wonder
" I am a hybrid. I do independent films and also do Hollywood films - I love them both. "
Spike Lee
Independent
Am
Hollywood
" The truth is I've been doing Kickstarter before there was Kickstarter; there was no Internet. Social Media was writing letters, making phone calls, beating the bushes. "
Spike Lee
Truth Is
Writing
Truth
" 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. "
Spike Lee
America
History
Music
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Quest
Down
Here
" 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. "
Spike Lee
College
She
Education
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Movies
Doctor
Me
" 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. "
Spike Lee
Culture
Alone
Black