Spike Lee Quotes

Quotes about:

• I believe in destiny. But I also believe that you can’t just sit back and let destiny happen. A lot of times, an opportunity might fall into your lap, but you have to be ready for that opportunity. You can’t sit there waiting on it. A lot of times you are going to have to get out there and make it happen.

  Spike Lee

  Believe, Fall, Opportunity

  90 Copy quote

• I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can't just sit back and let other people define our existence.

  Spike Lee

  Powerful, Thinking, People

  54 Copy quote

• Power is knowing your past.

  Spike Lee

  Past, Knowing, Experience

  32 Copy quote

• I don't think my films are going to get rid of racism or prejudice. I think the best thing my films can do is provoke discussion.

  Spike Lee

  Thinking, Racism, Prejudice

  Spike Lee, Cynthia Fuchs (2002). “Spike Lee: Interviews”, p.26, Univ. Press of Mississippi

  25 Copy quote

• I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect.

  Spike Lee

  Thinking, People, Perfect

  32 Copy quote

• When you love something it's not a job anymore.

  Spike Lee

  Jobs

  39 Copy quote

• I ain't Martin Luther King. I don't need a dream. I have a plan.

  Spike Lee

  Dream, Kings, Needs

  29 Copy quote

• I think it is very important that films make people look at what they've forgotten.

  Spike Lee

  Thinking, People, Important

  43 Copy quote

• You gotta make your own way. You gotta find a way. You gotta get it done. It's hard. It's tough. That's what I tell my students every day in class. I've been very fortunate. Some people might call me a hardhead, but I'm not going to let other people dictate to me who I should be or the stories I should tell. That doesn't register with me.

  Spike Lee

  Inspirational, Motivational, Class

  "Spike Lee Talks to Indiewire: 'I’m not going to let other people dictate the stories I tell'". Interview with Eric Kohn, www.indiewire.com. January 16, 2012.

  60 Copy quote

• It gets dangerous when you start allowing people to validate your work.

  Spike Lee

  People, Dangerous, Allowing

  "NAACP Image Awards: The Winners" by Arlene Washington, www.hollywoodreporter.com. February 6, 2015.

  40 Copy quote

• I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.

  Spike Lee

  Night, Yesterday, May

  "Fictional character: Bleek". "Mo' Better Blues", www.imdb.com. 1990.

  28 Copy quote

• 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

  People, Black, Identity

  28 Copy quote

• All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love.

  Spike Lee

  Motivational, Directors, Stories

  33 Copy quote

• Racism in America absolutely exists - it is an issue. We need to fix it. We're a great country - probably the greatest country but we could be a hell of a lot greater.

  Spike Lee

  Country, Racism, Hell

  Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

  4 Copy quote

• Our greatness, our talent has never been the question. It's been a matter of grappling for control over what we do.

  Spike Lee

  Greatness, Matter, Talent

  9 Copy quote

• It has been my observation that parents kill more dreams than anybody.

  Spike Lee

  Dream, Parent, Observation

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  17 Copy quote

• Don't think that because you haven't heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. I am still here, like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest.

  Spike Lee

  Sleep, Night, Thinking

  41 Copy quote

• What's the difference between Hollywood characters and my characters? Mine are real.

  Spike Lee

  Real, Character, Differences

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  9 Copy quote

• I mean, I think there's a lot of hope in my work. I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films. Some more than others, but there's definitely... I think we want to convey the feeling of hope with the montage at the end.

  Spike Lee

  Thinking, Feelings, Want

  "Q+A: Spike Lee Goes Back to Brooklyn". Interview with Simon Abrams, www.esquire.com. January 25, 2012.

  10 Copy quote

• Stick around long enough, you'll get some grace.

  Spike Lee

  Long, Grace, Sticks

  "Spike Lee reflects on his career: 'You have to have thick skin'". Associated Press Interview, www.chicagotribune.com. November 10, 2015.

  6 Copy quote

• Those that'll tell don't know, and those that know won't tell.

  Spike Lee

  Knows

  "Do the Right Thing". www.imdb.com. 1989.

  28 Copy quote

• I'm very careful about how I portray violence in my films. I do believe that violence, especially violent video games, are not a good thing for young kids.

  Spike Lee

  Believe, Kids, Games

  "Q&A: Spike Lee on 'Oldboy,' Remakes, Atonement & 'Inside Man 2'". Interview with Simon Abrams, www.esquire.com. November 20, 2013.

  13 Copy quote

• It is really important that young people find something that they want to do and pursue it with passion. I'm very passionate about filmmaking. It's what I love to do.

  Spike Lee

  Passion, People, Important

  9 Copy quote

• One of the great things about African-Americans is that we've always had this attitude: We make do with what we got. It comes from our ancestors being slaves.

  Spike Lee

  Attitude, African American, Slave

  "So What's On Your Mind, Spike Lee?". Interview with Stacey Wilson Hunt, www.hollywoodreporter.com. January 17, 2012.

  4 Copy quote

• As a writer I want everybody to get a chance to voice their opinions. If each character thinks that they're telling the truth, then it's valid. Then at the end of the film, I leave it up to the audience to decide who did the right thing.

  Spike Lee

  Character, Thinking, Voice

  7 Copy quote

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