Love and Basketball is one of the most beloved romantic comedies of all time. But shooting the film was not an easy experience for Sanaa Lathan.
During a recent panel discussion, Lathan revealed that making the classic film came with several challenges.
“I read the script, and I was like – I gotta play this role. It was a page turner. And I cried every time I read it,” Lathan said to Laura Coates. “I had come from the theater, with some of the best writers to ever live. And this was on par…in terms of the character development. I knew she had spent a lot of time working on it.”
After landing the role of Monica, the love interest of Quincy, played by Omar Epps, she soon discovered that the process would be a challenging ride. Playing a basketball player was an obstacle she had to get by.
“The basketball part, you know, I was coming from drama school, so…the acting part was in the bag. But the basketball part was extremely challenging for me. I had to audition with a basketball before [Prince-Bythewood]. She was like, ‘She’s gonna ruin my movie,” Lathan laughed.
Lathan noted that there is “nothing worse than some bad basketball on film.” The audience always knows if an actor can play sports or not. Shooting some of the training scenes was hard for the 54-year-old actress.
“My goal was to look like I could play basketball, you know, like with the form,” she said. Also, the “two-ball scene [that was shot] in silhouette.”
“I was so mad at [Prince-Bythewood] for putting it in silhouette because it really was me,” Lathan recalled. “I had practiced for hours and hours and hours. So the experience of shooting it wasn’t fun; it was hard.”
Released on April 21, 2000, Love & Basketball grossed approximately $27.7 million worldwide. It made a strong debut, earning $8.1 million in its opening weekend—securing the number two spot at the box office.