“Before I made 'Sweetback,' I had a three-picture deal with Columbia an...” — Melvin Van Peebles Quote

“Before I made 'Sweetback,' I had a three-picture deal with Columbia and enough juice, if I was real clever with it, to proclaim that I wanted to do an independent film.”

“The studios didn't really take independent films seriously, till 'Sweetback' was such a financial success.”

“With 'Sweetback,' I just put it together a little bit at a time. I didn't do it on anybody's grant. I did it like any other young executive - by cheating and stealing!”

“I love 'Girls.' The writing is so clever. I think Lena Dunham is a genius. I can't believe she writes it, directs it and stars in it. It's really exciting that a young woman has been able to achieve all of that.”

“It's weird; my fascination with tech was kind of combined with the fact that my parents would never pay for anything. It got me more involved because I would have to find clever ways to get things for free.”

“It so depends on each script, because you can say... I always thought I wouldn't have wanted to do something that was kind of like as big and commercial as 'The Dark is Rising,' but I really liked the script. I thought it was really clever.”