Lee Daniels Quotes

It's time for storytellers to tell the stories that have not had the privilege of being shown to the world, and the audience will be there.

I don't see myself only as a Somali character. I think of myself as an actor, and if the job fits me and I like the story, I will go for it.

My husband and I are writers, and I wish I could write faster. There are not a lot of movies made with black actors in mind.

I would like to see more films being made with people of color behind the camera and in front of the camera, because the more times at bat we have, the better we get.

Films are very influential, and I especially feel a responsibility to tell stories that have been pushed aside. Being able to shed light on issues that need to be brought to the world.

Any opportunity I can get to showcase different characters, I absolutely love.

I do hope the success of 'Ms. Marvel' will open doors for other characters and other creators.

I'm all about the crossover. The role doesn't necessarily have to be white or Latina or black. It could be anything. But it's hard in Hollywood, because sometimes it's all about the box office. Or all about looks and things like that. It's not about the story that they have to tell.

I consciously think about the ethnicity of every character that I create and cast. But one thing that is equally important is quality representation. It's not enough to put an African-American in there, a female in there, a gay character in there: How significant is their contribution? Can they drive the story?

That's very, very important to me, to give another narrative. And Netflix has not been afraid of doing that, as we see from the plethora of shows that they have, from British shows to American shows like 'Master of None,' which I've been very grateful to be on, too. Just giving platforms to people who haven't seen themselves on TV.

The people who used to hold the purse strings were a select group of white, middle-aged men, but that's changing, and the more it continues to change, the more we'll see inclusive stories get told.

Diversity is essential to the success of the news industry, and journalists must include diverse voices in their coverage in order to reach a broader audience. We have stories to tell, but many in our audience have stopped listening because they can tell that we're not talking about them.

My goal is to broaden and deepen the range of African-American characters on television, so I always try to show human beings.

It's not enough to be diverse in your casting. You have to service those characters; you have to make them fully well rounded because people are watching.

We know there needs to be diversity in storytellers telling their own stories. I think there's a beautiful forward movement in that direction with McQueen telling '12 Years A Slave,' with Coogler telling 'Fruitvale,' and with Daniels telling 'The Butler.'

I've been very lucky to have played a variety of characters, and they weren't defined by their race.

There are stories to be told that are still untold and characters to be portrayed that haven't been portrayed correctly. So there's work to be done.

Most authors would love to see their characters made for the screen, especially one that's quite colourful.

I think the crux of this urgent and real conversation about representation and diversity in art-making and storytelling both behind and in front of the camera ultimately has to do with simply seeing more human perspectives.

Something I love about 'Teen Wolf' is that my character is written in as just a normal girl. She could have been any ethnicity; she doesn't have to be Asian.

The reason I got into filmmaking was super naive: to change the world, you know? To really make the voices that we don't get to hear heard and the images and the stories that we don't get to see seen. I would like to normalize that.

The beauty of letting marginalized people tell their own stories is it isn't only the right thing to do socially, but it's also the right thing to do financially. People love the truth, and people like to spend money on the truth.

What if Macauley Culkin were black in 'Home Alone?' Most people would write it differently... but I would write it the same way.

For Marvel, we've never looked at any of our characters in terms of gender, race, or religion. It truly is about, who is the best character for the story? If that character happens to be a woman, fantastic.

What should be driving the conversation is: What's the story? What's the movie about? Is it a compelling story? And if it is, then you make it regardless of the color of the people behind or in front of the camera.