Have you ever heard of 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?' I would like to play Sidney Poitier's role - I love that role.
The bravery of Stanley Kramer's 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' amounted to two Hollywood legends - Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy - telling the world that a black son-in-law is something they can live with, and so should you, especially if he looks like Sidney Poitier and has degrees.
When I became a director, I wanted to convince a very reluctant Sidney into allowing me to go on the journey of his life. Sidney had gone ahead of every other African American actor.
My style icon has always been Sidney Poitier.
I will say this: the first film that I was on was 'In the Heat of the Night', that Norman Jewison directed with Sidney Poitier. I'm on the set, and I'm totally taking it for granted. Everyone is working for everyone else and pulling for the very best, and it makes everyone better because you feel that effort and concern and appreciation.
I would love, love, love to do a comedy like 'Gentleman's Guide,' something farcical and fast-paced, but I also want to do something that hasn't been written yet: the story of Sidney Poitier. A lot of people tell me that I look like him.
Sidney Poitier was directing a film called 'Hanky Panky.' And he said, 'Do you want to come with me to New York to see Gilda Radner in 'Lunch Hour' on Broadway? I said, 'I don't need to see her, I love her. I've wanted to write something for her for a long time. So it's OK by me.'
I remember seeing the movie 'To Sir With Love' when I was a little girl.
My first love was acting. I went to Sidney Poitier films as a kid. I sat in the theater and dreamed of being an actor.
My mom took me to see Goldfinger. My mom took me to see To Sir, With Love.
Sidney Poitier and Sidney Lumet were instrumental in helping me get started as the first black composer to get name credit for movie scores.
'The Graduate' should have won best picture over 'In the Heat of the Night.'
I was playing this horrible part. I didn't didn't want to play it because the character was an awful racist. But I'm glad I did it because I met Sidney Poitier.
When you act a scene with Sidney Poitier, he listens intently to every word you say. You can feel your words hit him. He makes the scene utterly real.
I starred in a Broadway play that was Sidney Poitier's first directing job and the cast was Lou Gossett, Cicely Tyson, Diana Ladd and I played a Jewish kid who offered himself as a slave to two Columbia University students as reparations.
