Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

" I'm always more comfortable and in a good place when I'm with friends because I know they trust me. I'm able to get great performances from people who trust me. "

Related Quotes:

" 'Precious' is so not P.C. What I learned from doing the film is that even though I am black, I'm prejudiced. I'm prejudiced against people who are darker than me. "

Lee Daniels

I Am

Black

Doing

" My mom knew early on that I was gay, and she knew that I had to get out of the ghetto. "

" I think it's very important that we don't sound like militants. Often what we do is we give a comment, and because it comes across with passion, then we're 'angry black people.' "

" 'Empire' was a very traumatic experience for me. It was very schizophrenic, and it wasn't what I expected it to be. "

Lee Daniels

Empire

Expected

" Most of my friends are dead. I watched friends die in my arms at 5, 6, 8. When I grew up, the rest of my friends died of AIDS. "

" I've had all types of beautiful girls tell me that they ugly when they look in the mirror, as if it's someone else's reflection they see. "

" I don't want to sell my soul to Hollywood - to just make run-of-the-mill stuff. "

" I see the world from a very specific perspective. It is how I grew up. It is what I am proud of, and I vocalize it. And for those who have not experienced my experience, it is odd, and it's not mainstream. "

Lee Daniels

I Am

Perspective

" The rules are: The only ego is the film, and you have to serve the film. "

" Most actors want the audience to like them, and that leads to bad acting. "

" I came to Hollywood to write and found out I don't have the attention span. "

" I knew that I'd end up directing because I'm so hands-on with my films. "

Lee Daniels

Hands-On

Because

" My mom had five kids. And she came home after working three jobs, and I'd rub her feet. We'd all rub her feet. We were lucky to get any time with her. "

" I don't work with fear, and I don't work with actors that are fearful. "

" I went back-to-back from 'Paperboy' to 'Butler,' literally with no break. "

" I have twins that I didn't want to have the life that I had. I didn't have a great life growing up. "

" I come from a family of domestics. I think most African-Americans of my age do. They were trusted by their bosses. I have met so many white people that spent more time with their nannies than they have with their own parents. "

" When I make movies, I don't ever go out there to please anyone other than myself. I never try to make a film for the masses. I just try to tell my story. "

" 'Push' had a story, 'The Paperboy' story you could just throw up in the air and shoot holes through the book because the story wasn't as strong. But I felt the characters were stronger in 'The Paperboy'; they were vivid. "

" I'm still pulled over... We were nominated for two Oscars for 'Monster's Ball,' and I almost didn't make the Oscars because I got pulled over in Beverly Hills. "

" My partner, Danny Strong, came to me with this idea of telling a story about my life and merging that with music and the hip-hop world. He wrote 'The Butler' and originally wanted to do 'Empire' also as a movie. "

Lee Daniels

My Life

Music

" I think the father-son love story is a universal one which transcends color. "

" I like to show the grey area in all my characters. "

" I don't know what gives me more pleasure: watching my story unfold or going in and watching a room full of black people talking for me and writing words for black people. "

Lee Daniels

Black

People

" My dad was a cop. My mom worked at various jobs - she worked as a homemaker, a bank teller, a bartender. "

" Rarely do celebrities and actors speak up for what they believe in. "

Lee Daniels

Speak

Rarely

" I didn't have the sensibilities of your ordinary filmmaker, let alone your ordinary African-American filmmaker. My heroes were John Waters, Pedro Almodovar, and actors that were part of that world. "

" I wanted to make a black 'Dynasty.' "

" While I am not a musician, I love music. I have over 15,000 songs on my iPod. Everything from hard core rap to the soundtrack from the original 'Cinderella.' "

" If you really spend time with movies, it's three years of your life from beginning to end. I started out planting the seed with 'Monster's Ball' about independent cinema and raising money and that whole thing as a producer, and then it becomes easier for me. "

Lee Daniels

Money

End