I come from a family of domestics. I think most African-Americans of my age do. They were trusted by their bosses. I have met so many white people that spent more time with their nannies than they have with their own parents. Lee Daniels africanageamerican share on social
I'm not Tyler Perry. I'm not Dino De Laurentis. I think it's a bit much to put one's name in front of the film. It makes me uncomfortable. Lee Daniels bitedinofilm Change image and share on social
I look at my movies; I call my movies 'the kid.' It's like I'm giving birth. I'm in the cocoon, you know? Lee Daniels birthcallcocoon Change image and share on social
I am so used to having two faces. A face that I had for black America and a face for white America. When Obama became president, I lost both faces. Now I only have one face. Lee Daniels americablackface Change image and share on social
My earliest experience was reading Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' at 8, you know, with a bunch of kids on my steps - on the stoops - and knowing that I wanted to direct them saying the lines. I don't really know how to articulate that 'cause there wasn't someone to show me. Lee Daniels afraidalbeearticulate share on social
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 endfilmidea Change image and share on social
My partner, Danny Strong, came to me with this idea of telling a story about my life and merging that with music and the hip-hop world. He wrote 'The Butler' and originally wanted to do 'Empire' also as a movie. Lee Daniels butlerdannyempire share on social
'Precious' is so not P.C. What I learned from doing the film is that even though I am black, I'm prejudiced. I'm prejudiced against people who are darker than me. Lee Daniels blackdarkfilm Change image and share on social
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 familyintimatelyleave share on social
I'm a filmmaker. I'm always searching for the truth in everything I do. I demand it from my writing partner and my crew, actors, and so hopefully, we're making people think. Lee Daniels actorcrowdemand Change image and share on social