"We out.” That is the Harriet Tubman quote emblazoned on my favorite T-shirt. Did she ever really say it? Probably not. But what is so dope about the conceit is that it distills her heroism so acutely, that you feel it in our now. That is the beauty of the film “Harriet.” The performance of Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman is so sharp and nuanced that this mythic, historical figure becomes real. We feel Harriet’s fierce devotion to love, family, and womanhood viscerally. Cynthia Erivo is a striking actress. But great performances do not happen in a vacuum. Kasi is known as an “actor’s director,” and her skill shines throughout the film. The connection between artist and actor is palpable. You feel their trust of one another. Their shared singular focus of Kasi’s vision. A great director guides, pushes, nourishes, steps back. They provide the tools upon which an actor can build. And oh, what tools Kasi provided in costumes, production design, location and voluminous research. Crafting a performance with an actor is the most important job of a director. It starts with trust, and creating a space in which an actor feels safe enough to give you everything. Cynthia gave Kasi everything and we are better for it. We watch an extraordinary woman live, love and fight, and leave the theater inspired."

"It would have been very disingenuous of me not to acknowledge the enormous impact The Beatles have had on music and pop culture. They were lucky enough to be around at a time when people were pioneering with electric guitars and trying out different things and forming what pop music was. The Beatles were the best at it and the masterpiece is ‘The White Album’ because you get to hear them experimenting and going a little further out into the deeper water. Some of the McCartney songs are great, things like ‘Blackbird’, but the Lennon songs – ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ and ‘I’m So Tired’ – are magnificent. ‘I’m So Tired’ is one of those songs I relate to more than any. Certain songs suit our personalities or our way of being. With ‘I’m So Tired’ I’ve been in that position so many times; sleepless nights from jet-lag or too many things going on in my head. Lennon had this unbelievably effortless ability of capturing things and writing that postcard that would become a song. That album is filled with those gems. Of all the things they did, that album is by far my favourite. It’s the most experimental. It made me think you can do what you like with an album, it’s just an experience. Other people were just writing songs; The Beatles were addressing a much broader perspective."