I have an idea about building almost like a studio for some of the best Tropfest filmmakers, so they can come together and support and be given space and resources they need to tell great stories year around, so it's not just about the festivals. You know, the sky's the limit with this thing, and I'm still making it up as I go along.
Humility is always a good thing. It's always a good thing to be humbled by circumstances so you can then come from a sincere place to try to deal with them.
'Wayne of Gotham' is very much a father-and-son exploration. We've always seen Thomas Wayne through the years as this figure carved in marble; this perfect man. The only thing we really know about is that he died in that alley outside of a theater. But every son has to confront the reality of his father at some point in his life.
The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.
The truth is, I had always wanted to be a comedian, but I really didn't have that kind of personality, and it's a terrifying thing to say.
I think my generation's inability to speak in absolute terms when it comes to politics is a very positive thing; it's made us more nuanced, made us more complex.
The whole of ancient astrology owed its origin to conversation with the cosmic intelligences. But by the time of the first centuries after the rise of Christianity, ancient astrology - that is to say, conversation with cosmic intelligences - was a thing of the past.
I would always stand up for women, but I don't want women's rights and all that sort of thing. I love to have men around, and I suppose if you're a true feminist, you get on and do it yourself. I love it when someone says, 'I'll get your coat' or, 'I'll look after you', or offers you a seat on the bus. I'm thrilled to bits. I'm not a feminist.
People still assume the White House Correspondents' Association works for the White House, when in reality, it's a group of journalists who cover the White House. It's a branding thing, but because it has the 'White House' before it, people think they're just King Joffrey's goons.
'Mercy,' I love conceptually because I feel like you can either think about it as if it were a girl - which it sounds like it could be about a girl - but I like to picture it as 'pleading for mercy for my career' type of thing.
I'm a huge Spike Lee fan. I saw 'Do The Right Thing' twice in the same night when it first came out and had long conversations with all my friends about the issues in it.
I'm a rapper and, obviously, hip hop rap is my main thing. But I also like to dive into different genres and kind of be a bit more experimental and open myself up a bit, whether that's taking influence from jazz or soul or electronic.
The first thing I do is I check my emails and my texts. I guess I shouldn't feel guilty about it at this point; it's kind of the norm. Sometimes I'll bounce around Twitter. And if I have time, I'll catch up on the news, usually on 'Huffington Post' or 'Salon.'
Finding your place as an artist is the hardest thing. You come out of college with what feels like a Mickey Mouse degree that qualifies you for nothing in the real world.
I think the thing that you've seen with Donald Trump is that he doesn't - he doesn't look to the past and say, 'I've got to conform to these precedents.'
I mean, the only thing that matters to me is getting to the work - getting to do the work. And I don't really care where it is: whether it's on stage or on television or in film.
The most important thing is to just do it. If I work at a higher level I have responsibility to do better than what I've done before. Sometimes the best happens - beyond possibility. Just do it. Can't worry about it.
I don't think there is any such thing as a black writer or a white writer. Ultimately, there is someone whom one reads.
The ship's transporters - which let the crew 'beam' from place to place - really came out of a production need. I realized with this huge spaceship, I would blow the whole budget of the show just in landing the thing on a planet.
Tennis is my life, obviously; I need to focus, I need to win. But it's not the only thing. I'm not going to play forever.
There's this weird thing about acting where you have to wait for somebody to ask you to do it; like you have to wait for a director to say it's okay.
A general charge of crony capitalism is easy to make. But dividing the 'bad' crony capitalists from the 'good' innovative entrepreneurs is much harder to do. And sorting them out without creating a new group of crony capitalists may be the hardest thing of all.
The one cool thing with getting older is that you can actively choose to just be an eccentric.
I don't think you can approach any piece of art with boundaries or rules. I think respect is a very important thing, but I also think what we discover along the way is really important.
Music can lift the spirit; it can make you cry. Soldiers have marched into battle to music. It's a powerful thing.
I want to write and direct and kind of do my own thing.
The scary thing about the future... there will be tiny cameras everywhere, and they'll be flying around like mosquitoes and drones. That will be bad. Drones are scary. You can't reason with a drone.
One thing I've learned, and I don't really blame anybody for this: most people who have a lot of money are the people that want to make money more than anyone. I've seen it with athletes, I've seen it with musicians, you know?
You know that thing where you're trying to do the crossword puzzle, and you're trying to fit the word that's in your head in the puzzle, and then you go 'Ugh!' and you walk away, and then it comes to you. I'm interested in that moment. The release of expectation, and the release of pleasing yourself and pleasing anybody. Breaking the mindset.
My fans have made all my career moments special for me. They are the ones that have gotten me through every single thing - good times and bad, they are who I go to and lean on. I am very thankful for that.
Luckily, in my case, I have managed, by writing, to do the one thing that I always wanted to do.
One thing America gets right is being open to innovation. Canada and Scandinavia have to do better on that.
The star thing, the celebrity thing, is new to me.
The only thing we try and do is just be a part of the gumbo that New Orleans is.
I don't mind what the critics say, so long as I get some reaction. The worst thing is to be ignored.
When I approach a story or movie, the story is the most important thing.
