I'll cough up the bitter truth right now, at the risk of losing my Feminism Club Decoder Ring: I didn't go see 'Inside Out' for Amy Poehler, though she's terrific. I went to see my dark prince, Lewis Black.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I always look at things half full and definitely see a change in how things are going as far as black actresses and their opportunities.
There are so many remarkable playwrights working right now, that I see everything I can. Annie Baker is a genius, I'll see anything she writes. The same for Lynn Nottage, Cynthia Hopkins, and Lisa D'Amour. Anything they've got going on, I'll go see.
'Bridget Jones' is meant to be a funny night out, but with emotional truth. I wanted to make it a classic that you can pick up in 10 years and not cringe over.
I love Diane Keaton's style in 'Annie Hall,' but I like to think my own style is like a cross between 'Annie Hall' and Prince.
It's OK to sit in the Golden Globe room and look around and think, 'Oh, Helen Mirren's a loser tonight, so is Nicole Kidman. Meryl Streep lost tonight. Jessica Lange didn't win.' If you're gonna be in the company of losers, that's the company to be in.
So now I feel I'm lucky in the respect that I can sort of pick a little more carefully, which is tricky because as a black actress, there aren't that many roles to pick from.
I feel like a lot of comedians do have that deep, dark thing. I have my stuff, but I don't go to that dark place.
I found literary idols in Adrienne Kennedy, Nella Larsen, and Ntozake Shange, writers who'd dared to locate a sanctioned, forbidden space between white vulnerability and black invincibility.
One of my favourite movies is 'Annie Hall' because it's about the silver lining of the break-up.
I'm always looking for a way to surprise audiences. That's, I feel, my job as a director. I felt that Amy Adams playing a tough woman in 'The Fighter' was a surprise. People saw her as a princess.