Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “Love and Basketball”
Spike and Prince-Bythewood didn’t agree Sanaa should get the lead role
Spike Lee, who served as a producer of the film, disagreed with Prince-Bythewood about who she should cast for the lead role. He believed that it was more important that the woman have the believable basketball skills. Here’s what Prince-Bythewood had to say about the final decision. “I saw over 700 people for the part–actors, ballplayers, people who had never acted before in their life. It finally came down to Sanaa and Niesha Butler [a star player at Georgia Tech and 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year]. I put Sanaa with a basketball coach for two months and Niesha with an acting coach.”
Prince-Bythewood ultimately decided that it was a love story first—which is why she ultimately went with Lathan.
“He had strong opinions about it, but at the end of the day it was my movie. You can fake basketball but you can’t fake a close-up.”
Good decision. Looking at the movie, you can’t tell Lathan didn’t play ball all her life.
