Ava DuVernay Quotes

The studios aren't lining up to make films about black protagonists, black people being autonomous and independent.

Ava DuVernay

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Quotes to Explore

• My first agent told me to change my name or I'd only play Jewish parts or Indians. Of course I refused to change it. Shortly thereafter she came up to me and told me I had to keep it, because her numerologist said it was very, very good.

  

  Malachi Throne
  • Up
  • Good
  • She

• There's always going to be a little bit of autobiographical content to everything. It's how you lend some authority to what you write - you give it that weight by drawing on your direct experiences and indirect experiences from people that you know well, or a little.

  

  Ian Anderson
  • People
  • Know
  • Drawing

• I think people are going to like my new shoes. I like them. I had a lot of success with the one last year, but this year's shoe is going to be a little different, but at the same time it's going to be a little spin-off on last year's shoe.

  

  Vince Carter
  • People
  • Time
  • Different

• People in love don't see gender, colour or religion. Or age. It's about the other person, the one that you love and who loves you. You don't think of them in terms of a label. You just go with your heart.

  

  Sam Taylor-Wood
  • People
  • Heart
  • Love

• I think that people that are not sensitive, who seem to bang through life, do survive, but I don't think they get the really soaring feelings that people who are more artistically bent can get.

  

  Fannie Flagg
  • People
  • Life
  • Feelings

• One of my personal plights in this business is about playing 'The Sassy Black Girl.'

  

  Gabourey Sidibe
  • Business
  • Black
  • Girl

• The way I'm portrayed on the Internet is partly my doing, but it's partly the people that are presenting it so, you know, people come to know this strange version of a human. It can be pretty weird because people think I'm digging through dumpsters and smell like crap all the time.

  

  Mac DeMarco
  • People
  • Time
  • Pretty

• Helping people boost themselves out of poverty is the best way to make a lasting positive difference in a person's life.

  

  Naveen Jain
  • People
  • Life
  • Best

• Black Sabbath invented heavy metal, in my opinion.

  

  Eddie Trunk
  • Black
  • Opinion
  • Heavy-Metal

• People who have a sense of peace that their priorities are in the right place also have a sense of humility and a realistic view on life.

  

  Patrick Lencioni
  • People
  • Life
  • Peace

• In America, people buy cars, and they put very little money down. They get a car, and they go to work. The work pays them a salary; the salary allows them to pay for the car over time. The car pays for itself.

  

  Iqbal Quadir
  • People
  • Time
  • Work

• I wish the press were paying more attention to the erosion of the Constitution and the slippery slope that we're getting into, by giving up the right of the Congress to talk about when and how and where we go to war.

  

  Barbara Lee
  • Up
  • War
  • Giving

• When I was growing up as a little girl and as a teenager, I loved designing and making dogs' clothes and wanting to be a fashion designer. I took art and ceramics. I loved dance.

  

  Mae Jemison
  • Up
  • Art
  • Girl

• You must go after your wish. As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your life wakes up and everything has meaning.

  

  Barbara Sher
  • Life
  • Up
  • Dream

• The Illinois Constitution was written before they realized they'd have a city the size of Chicago in the state. The constitution had severe limits on the ability of any city to raise monies through taxes and bonds. When Chicago grew explosively, they had to come up with ways of getting more money to do more things.

  

  Gary Krist
  • Up
  • Money
  • City

• Cinema is a thankless industry where sometimes to appear on the cinematic scenery is a thing for late bloomers and people who are very patient. The places are accounted, and the space is often unwelcoming. Money is rare, and independent voices are muted by the almost complete absence of risk takers.

  

  Xavier Dolan
  • People
  • Money
  • Space

• A lot of people put pressure on me, but I don't think I feel that type of pressure. It is more of a good thing that people are trying to do that.

  

  Adam Peaty
  • People
  • Good
  • Trying

• It brings up happy old days when I was only a farmer and not an agriculturist.

  

  O. Henry
  • Up
  • Happy
  • Old

• I try not to take much time off for lunch, so I usually end up with a tossed salad from the local deli.

  

  Aslaug Magnusdottir
  • Up
  • Time

• And this is what was fascinating to me about 'The Help'; they were ordinary people who did extraordinary things.

  

  Viola Davis
  • People
  • Helping
  • Extraordinary

• As a teenager, I had to struggle alone to learn about myself and what it meant to be gay. Now for 48 years I've had the satisfaction of working with other gay people all across the country to get the bigots off our backs, to oil the closet door hinges, to change prejudiced hearts and minds, and to show that gay love is good for us and for the rest of the world too. It's hard work – but it's vital, and it's gratifying, and it's often fun!

  

  Barbara Gittings
  • People
  • Work
  • Fun

• For some reason, my main movie, Lady Sings the Blues, to me really isn't me. I really can let go of Diana Ross when I see the movie. I'm really objective when I'm watching it. I liked that movie so much. That movie was like magic so that when I'm looking at it I'm really not seeing myself, I'm seeing the actress. I'm seeing another person, not the me of me.

  

  Diana Ross
  • Movie
  • Reason
  • Magic

• I just spent three years on 'The Office.' I made enough money that I can take five weeks out and do a play.

  

  David Denman
  • Money

• The studios aren't lining up to make films about black protagonists, black people being autonomous and independent.

  

  Ava DuVernay
  • People
  • Up
  • Black