Push’ had a story, ‘The Paperboy’ story you could just throw up in the air and shoot holes through the book because the story wasn’t as strong. But I felt the characters were stronger in ‘The Paperboy’; they were vivid. Lee Daniels Read Quote
What attracts me to material are characters that I know – characters that I know people don’t know but I know – and bringing them to the screen. Spotlighting voices that have not been heard before on screen. Lee Daniels Read Quote
When you’re paying everybody nothing, I mean, they have homes to pay for. And my movies are like putting on theater. Nicole Kidman is at craft services, and John Cusack is moving furniture; there are no egos. The only ego is the story. Lee Daniels Read Quote
Putting on a movie is like going to war – for me, at least. It’s all about time; time is money, and we don’t have it. So it’s all about getting to know each other intimately quickly. You are with family members that you like or don’t like, but you can’t leave them because you’re stuck with them. Lee Daniels Read Quote
Empire’ was a very traumatic experience for me. It was very schizophrenic, and it wasn’t what I expected it to be. Lee Daniels Read Quote
I’ve never done a studio movie, let alone worked for a network. Every one of my films has been independently financed. Lee Daniels Read Quote
My mom knew early on that I was gay, and she knew that I had to get out of the ghetto. Lee Daniels Read Quote
Most of my friends are dead. I watched friends die in my arms at 5, 6, 8. When I grew up, the rest of my friends died of AIDS. Lee Daniels Read Quote
Most times when I do a film, it starts out with one idea and ends up not being what I thought it was going to be. Lee Daniels Read Quote
