Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “Love Jones”

Can Black Women be in the Moment?

March of this year marked the film’s fifteenth anniversary. Essence Magazine caught up with the cast members and asked them about their favorite scenes. This is what Nia Long had to say…

The scene in the rain where Darius and Nina have their last kiss. It was so cold outside. I didn’t expect for the rain to be that cold, because it was movie rain. But then it really rained. So we had a combination of warm and cold rain. I went back into my trailer and I literally wrapped myself with plastic bags to try to stay warm. There was a big argument about that scene because everyone was like, “Black women don’t like to get their hair wet, and this is unrealistic.” That’s not true. We can be in the moment. We’re not that concerned about our hair.

And this is what director, Theodore Witcher had to say:

We tested the movie, and most of the women in the audience didn’t believe a black woman would stand in the rain with her hair uncovered. This mortified me because we’re going for the big finish and you’re absorbed in this detail of whether her hair would get messed up? The studio [New Line Cinema] said, “Reshoot,” and we shot the scene under an L train track. I wanted to present a woman protagonist without vanity, which I thought would be refreshing, but I guess I failed.

I have to agree with Nia our hair is important but it’s not our god. I’m sure Nina slicked her tresses into a nice bun or poofy ponytail the next day and was still cute with her man. Word to the wise ladies, if you have a Darius type of dude in your life, don’t play him because you’re trying to protect your hair at all costs.