Bill Duke

“I'm an American, but being a black American, my experience is a particular one, my struggles have been particular.”

“The largest country with the largest consumption of skin bleach in the world is India. Indian men are bleaching their skin because, in terms of marriage, if your skin is dark, it's assumed you work in a field. If your skin is lighter, it's assumed you work in an office because you're not getting enough sun. Indian men are bleaching their skin.”

“How can you compare 'Hollywood Shuffle,' financed through the director's credit cards, and 'Apocalypse Now?' You have to take into consideration the conditions under which it was made.”

“I don't say, 'Francis Ford Coppola, what a wonderful Italian-American director.' I judge him based on his film, his craft, his art. That's the way I feel I should be dealt with in this industry.”

“My father worked three jobs, my mother worked two, seven days a week sometimes. And they wouldn't take welfare or social assistance, they were too proud.”

“Do I see people working harder than me? I can't imagine that but if I do it inspires me to work harder.”

“There is no reason why excellent pictures can't be made for $4-5 million.”

“Never... never... whether you are five or 100, never give up. It's never too late.”

“You determine your reality.”

“We need people with foresight who are willing to make films with smaller budgets and accept smaller profits.”

“No individual should rely on any other human being or system to define their worth as a human being. You have to begin to find that within yourself.”

“I come up in a segregated 1943 atmosphere of segregation.”

“Without understanding your history, you can't get a perspective about the present.”

“I had parents who taught me ethics that I didn't know they were teaching me at the time.”

“Some people you can forgive and forget. Some people you cannot forgive or forget. There are other people you can forgive and not forget. So there's people you can forgive and forget. Forgive and not forget. It depends on what they've done.”

“My favorite filmmaker is Frank Capra. He talked about the redemption of the human spirit - not the superhero, but the common man.”

“I've been very selfish and the women in my life have hated that because of my work ethic. I try not to bring my work home but the next day I want to go prepared. So okay let's have a few moments of camaraderie whatever... okay great! I go work on the script.”

“It's very important that we give a voice to the voiceless in terms of media; because media is a global phenom and it portrays you dependent upon what controls you have and the writers are doing great work.”

“I'm hoping to see some minorities in executive offices in positions of power, people who see the merit of projects with minority themes. That may or may not happen.”

“By healing the internal issues that we can heal as a people, our children don't have to suffer the same agony and pain that we put each other through.”