“As a producer, as a CEO of Hartbeat Productions, I am making deals to put my company in place to win, to put my staff to work so that while all this stuff is going on, they’re in the kitchen cooking. So it’s understanding the longevity of the entertainment business; you get out of it what you put into it.”

I am who I am. That’s why my friends and peers respect and appreciate me.

I get that racism exists, but it’s not a catalyst for my content. I don’t need to talk about race to have material.

Some sarcasm is best told simply.

When other movies are done with a predominantly white cast, we don’t call them a white film. I’m trying to remove the stigma off things they call black films.

At the end of the day, your fans are the people who support you in and out. And their opinions matter.

I know a dramatic role is going to happen, but you just got to be patient, you know? It’s going to happen when it’s supposed to happen. I’m not rushing it. I’m not trying to make it happen tomorrow.

My kids are coming up in a different time then me. Interracial couples are of the norm. With me, it’s about making sure my kids understand the importance of education and having opportunities that I didn’t.

All men hate the nagging.

At the end of the day, regardless of the color of the cast, we’re all doing the same thing in this business: trying to make a good film.

I am who I am today because of my mother.

I love women with attitude.

Whatever is on the page is what I’m married to. I’m very prepared. I’m a thespian. I don’t like to improv. I don’t like to go off course ’cause I think that’s where stuff happens. When you stick to the material ’cause it’s written so well, that’s where the magic happens.

I’m never gonna step away from stand-up. I can’t. That’s what got me where I am, and that’s also my muse. That’s how I stay level-headed. That’s what keeps me going.

You make yourself broad. You make yourself appealing. ‘Hey, y’all, I’m cool with everybody.’ That’s my message.

When you have box-office results, Hollywood treats you different. Hollywood stands up. Once you get to the point where Hollywood sees that you create results, then the demand for you becomes higher.

I got a chance to work with Stallone and De Niro – pretty much sums it up for me. You can tell where you’re going in your career by the company you keep.

My dad never really wrote what he thought. None of his inner rage and darkness and problems, which we all have, made it on to the page. For him, writing was a process of making everything appear funny.

I have a self-defense mind. I’ve had it all my life.

There is a man sleeping in the grass. And over him is gathering the greatest storm of all his days.

Eventually the banking systems of all advanced economies reach magnitudes of 500 percent,

Have all been the means in the hands of God of driving the nails into the self-life which so easily complains.

We really are living in the era that all this sci-fi literature and cinema was centered around.

How much research I have to do depends on the nature of the story. For fantasy, none at all.

And all these people really wanted to reinvigorate the animated musical, so they came to Howard Ashman and me. That was my entry into Disney.