ONCE YOU RESPECT IT AND NOT PLAY WITH IT,

YOU COULD DEFINITELY INFLUENCE HOW PEOPLE THINK,

AND IT CAN BE GOOD AND BAD.

!!musiC@!!!musiC@!

MOVIES MEANT A LOT TO ME EVEN BEFORE

I WANTED TO BECOME A FILMMAKER.

MY MOTHER OFTEN WOULD TAKE ME TO THE MOVIES.

I REMEMBER GOING TO SEE "BYE BYE BIRDIE,"

"HELP," AND "HARD DAY'S NIGHT."

MY MOTHER INTRODUCED ME TO MARTIN SCORSESE

WITH SEEING "MEAN STREETS."

THERE WAS A THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY

THAT'S NOW NO LONGER THERE CALLED THE PARAMOUNT,

AND ME AND MY FRIEND LARRY TUCKER,

WE WAITED LIKE TWO HOURS TO SEE "THE EXORCIST."

I'VE NEVER BEEN SCARED IN MY LIFE.

I REMEMBER PEOPLE VOMITING IN THE THEATER AT THE SCREEN.

IT WAS CRAZY.

I WENT TO NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, GRAD OF FILM SCHOOL,

AND SOMETHING PROFOUND HAPPENED TO ME.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE FILMMAKERS, AKIRA KUROSAWA,

WAS IN AMERICA PROMOTING "RAN," AND THIS JOURNALIST ASKED HIM,

"YOU'RE ONE OF THE MOST RENOWNED

FILMMAKERS EVER -- A MASTER STORYTELLER.

DO YOU THINK YOU'VE LEARNED EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT FILMMAKING?"

KUROSAWA SAID, "THERE'S A UNIVERSE

OF FILMMAKING FOR ME TO STILL LEARN."

AND THAT WAS LIKE THE GROUND SHOOK.

THAT REALLY HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT

ON NOT JUST ME AS A FILMMAKER, BUT AS A PERSON.

MY THESIS FILM WAS SHOWN

BY THE GREAT ERNEST DIXON -- WE WERE CLASSMATES.

THE FILM WAS CALLED "JOE'S BED-STUY BARBERSHOP: WE CUT HEADS."

WON THE STUDENT ACADEMY AWARD,

AND I THOUGHT THAT THE NEXT WEEK,

I WAS GONNA BE DIRECTING A HOLLYWOOD FEATURE,

AND THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.

THAT'S WHEN I WOKE UP AND REALIZED I HAD

TO MAKE A FILM MYSELF AND GO THE INDEPENDENT ROUTE.

ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT MAKING A FILM

IS THAT YOU START WITH AN IDEA, HOPEFULLY GET THE MONEY,

AND A YEAR LATER OR LONGER, IT'S IN THE THEATERS.

THE REASON WHY I'VE TOLD THE STORIES I'VE TOLD

IS THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO TELL AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.

IT'S PART OF BEING A HUMAN BEING.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT MAKES US WHO WE ARE.

MY FAVORITE FILMMAKERS ARE STORYTELLERS.

AND THAT'S WHAT I TRY TO DO.

IT ALLOWS ME TO EXPRESS MYSELF AND SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD.

EVERYBODY COMES IN THE THEATER

AND SITS DOWN IN A CHAIR IN A DARK ROOM.

WHO THEY ARE IS GONNA AFFECT

HOW THEY VIEW THE FILM AND HOW THEY RECEIVE IT.

YOU WANT THEM TO HAVE SOME FEELING ABOUT IT.

WHAT THAT FEELING IS, YOU KNOW,

THAT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON THAT'S --

WHO THEY ARE AND THEIR EXPERIENCE.

THIS HONORARY OSCAR IS BEING GIVEN TO ME

FOR MY BODY OF WORK, NOT A SPECIFIC FILM.

IT'S SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO.

I DECIDED WHEN I BECAME A FILMMAKER,

I WANTED TO BUILD A BODY OF WORK,

SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT.

LIKE A PARENT, PROUD OF THEM ALL.

WOULD NOT TAKE ANY BACK.

WHATEVER THE HARDSHIPS THAT ONE HAS TO GO THROUGH

IN MAKING A FILM AND BEING IN THIS INDUSTRY,

I STILL FEEL I'M VERY BLESSED

BECAUSE I'M DOING WHAT I LOVE, AND THAT'S MAKING FILMS.

!!musiC@!!!musiC@!