Tagline: She had it all under control. Except her heart.
Something New is a romantic comedy about finding love when and where it’s least expected. Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) is a beautiful career woman who has achieved great professional success but still yearns for a fulfilling personal life. Looking for that “perfect man,” she even has a checklist at the ready. When she’s set up on a blind date with Brian (Simon Baker), a sexy and free-spirited landscaper who’s not exactly what she’d pictured for herself, Kenya is not amuzed… but she does need help fixing up the yard of her new house. An emotional and often hilarious movie about following your heart – no matter where it takes you.
If love is an adventure, it’s one yet to be embarked upon by Kenya Denise McQueen (Sanaa Lathan). A beautiful L.A. career woman, Kenya works as a senior manager at a prestigious accounting firm, and is on the verge of making partner. But she has yet to find her own partner and a fulfilling personal life. It’s not that she’s stopped looking; her (mental) checklist is at the ready. After another Valentine’s Day spent working late, Kenya agrees to a blind date with Brian Kelly (Simon Baker), a sexy and free-spirited landscape architect who turns out to be not exactly what she’d pictured for herself.
Her girlfriends Cheryl, Suzzette, and Nedra (Wendy Raquel Robinson, Golden Brooks, Taraji P. Henson) are there for her with advice, while Cheryl’s new beau Walter (Mike Epps) shares a male perspective with Brian. Kenya’s socially prominent parents Joyce and Edmond (Alfred Woodard, Earl Billings) and womanizing younger brother Nelson (Donald Faison) also voice their own opinions. But it’s when her perfect match, Mark (Blair Underwood), enters the picture that Kenya is truly thrown into confusion. Ultimately, Kenya has to decide for herself and follow her heart – no matter where it takes her.
“Love is an adventure”
Something New is a modern romance told with humor, and is the rare film directed, written, and produced by women of color. However, the filmmakers’ inspiration for their tale came from a Detroit Free Press story that was neither romantic nor funny.
Producer Stephanie Allain explains, “The article identified 42.4 percent as the percentage of black women who have never been married. Percentages aside, I saw this reflected not just in the lives of my black girlfriends but with other professional women I knew.”
Screenwriter Kriss Turner remembers, “I’d gotten the initial article from a friend of mine, and those numbers were very scary. I know a lot of fabulous, sharp, professional women that are still single, and I thought, ‘This is a movie.’”
Allain continues, “Kriss wrote about what I felt was universal for working women who are looking for love. As fantastic as their professional lives might be, they also want love in their personal lives. Something New looks at this problem through the eyes of a particular woman, Kenya Denise McQueen, who is an executive needing to expand her horizons in order to find love.”
Turner adds, “When you get to your late 30s and you’re still single, the thing that comes up – especially among black women professionals – is, are you going to go outside your race? If you want to find love and get married, you are probably going to have to open it up and think outside the box.
“I pitched it to a few people, and they felt, ‘Black girl, white guy, big deal.’ But it is still a big deal; even in 2006, it’s still a little dicey. I wanted to open more dialogues, and with comedy you can be more honest. I wrote it on spec and my agent got it to Stephanie. While she and I were working on the script, Newsweek put out a cover story about black women which confirmed what we already knew; namely, that professional women are tired of being alone and are open to dating and marrying outside their race.”
As the producer and screenwriter worked on the script, they also found that they were on the same page with respect to who should star and who could direct. Turner states, “Stephanie always wanted a female director to make this movie. From when I wrote it, Sanaa Lathan was the only person I ever had in mind to star. I saw her face while I was writing it; there was no one else. She has such sophistication, she is a real woman, and she’s a wonderful actress.”
“Sanaa Lathan was always, from the beginning, the top choice for the movie,” confirms Allain. “When Sanaa Hamri read the script, she really related to it, and we connected as soon as we met.” Hamri, a top director and editor of music videos, had been looking to make the transition to feature films. But, as she notes, “I didn’t want to do anything too flashy or like a music video. I wanted to direct a project that dealt with character and humanness. I found that in this script. Something New talks about humanity and about bringing people together, despite prejudices; that has always been a theme in my work, so this movie seemed like a natural transition.”
Turner remembers, “The three of us had dinner together, and we all agreed that the movie should look rich and beautiful. I wrote it about affluent black people; watching the movie, people are going to be saying, ‘This is refreshing.’ As a director, Sanaa has such attention to detail, that Something New not only has plenty of humor but is appealing to the eye.”
Hamri clarifies, “Visually, I wanted a movie that had a lot of texture and strength in terms of the emotions and characters. While it is a romantic comedy, I never intended to shoot it with that certain type of lighting and look that people tend to use.
“What I am trying to show is that we are all a lot more similar than we think. For example, Kenya’s struggle as a working woman is not only because she’s black; it’s also because she’s female. I think women of every culture will identify with her. Something New is about following your heart and your dream.”
Allain comments, “When love comes to you, you have to recognize that it is love. By understanding, or emphasizing, or listening, a lot of static can be tuned out and love can bloom. Finding it in unusual places will hopefully expand people’s minds and break down some of the prejudices that are completely fabricated.”
Turner says, “If love is what you really want, then color really can’t make any difference. Be open to what the universe may present to you.”
“Make things bloom”
Sanaa Lathan was the sole choice for the lead role of Kenya Denise McQueen in Something New. The actress remarks, “Good scripts don’t come along too often, so they are immediately recognizable when you do get one. One way I can tell if a script is good is if I can read it in one sitting, if it’s a page-turner. That was the case with Something New, which I found had a lot of truth in it – a lot of inside info that white women will hear for the first time, but about which black women will know because they’ve been there. I have; my girlfriends have.
“Something New deals with race, but also how people from different classes can fall in love. Kenya is a great character; she grows throughout the script. I think she’s an optimist, but she has this list of all the characteristics that she would need to have for her mate. Your heart is going to fall in love with who it’s going to fall in love with, and it’s not necessarily what’s on paper.
Lathan continues, “When Kenya agrees to a blind date with Brian, she automatically assumes that it’s a black guy, because it’s just not even in her mind that she would be set up with a white guy. When she goes into the Magic Johnson Starbucks and there’s this blond-haired, blue-eyed guy, she doesn’t even see him. As things progress between them, there’s something in his soul that I think Kenya connects to, something that makes her feel more alive.”
The actress was also encouraged to take the lead role in the film because, she marvels, “Sanaa Hamri and I both have the same name. Never in my life have I met somebody with the name Sanaa. And never before have I been in a movie with strong, smart black women at the helm.
“When you work with a first-time film director, you never know what to expect. Sure, Sanaa’s video reel was awesome, but it’s her theater background that really counts when a director has to talk to you in acting terms. I’m in almost every scene of Something New, and Sanaa kept it fun and energetic; she’s very specific about what she wants, which is great.”
Stephanie Allain elaborates, “We keep saying ‘first-time director,’ but Sanaa has directed so many music videos with complicated set-ups that she knows a lot about what she wants and how to get it. That’s the most important thing for a film director to have.”
Beginning in late 2004, a creative team was convened to staff Hamri’s feature directorial debut. “I’m a collaborator,” she notes. “I’m not a dictator on the set. It’s about having fun – and making the project right.”
Production designer Mayne Berke comments, “Coming from the music video world, where prep time is very limited, Sanaa is used to having to make decisions quickly and with conviction. Whenever I would show her something, she didn’t hesitate for a second in telling me what she liked or didn’t like. Another asset was her editorial experience; she knows what she needs, or will need.”
Costume designer Hope Hanafin says, “When I read the screenplay, I loved it, because it shows that you can’t script your life before you’re in it. But it was meeting Sanaa Hamri and her energy and warmth that really engaged me. I’ve done about 35 movies, and I’ve never met a director like her. I looked at her videos and saw that she had a real romantic sense about her, and although Something New is a contemporary film, the screenplay reminded me of wonderful 1950s romances; for instance, the dilemma of career vs. man in Doris Day and Katharine Hepburn films.”
Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut found the director to be “a breath of fresh air. Sanaa and I strove to capture these two people, Kenya and Brian, falling in love in a way that I feel is different. A youare- there feel, very intimate, and with a lot of natural light.”
Casting the second half of the film’s romantic couple required an actor who would match up well on-screen with the leading lady. Allain notes, “Brian slowly but confidently coaxes Kenya out of her ambivalence. He also learns to understand her world better. “We auditioned actors, and when Simon Baker read with Sanaa Lathan, the chemistry was evident. He could be funny, but also deep and serious.”
Hamri says, “We needed to find a male lead who could add things to the character. When Simon performs, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah…!’ I mean, every woman who watches this will want to be with him – and I think men will give him his props as well.”
Baker offers, “Being surrounded by strong and nurturing black women on this movie was a privilege and a pleasure for me. I’m Australian, so I didn’t grow up with African-American culture. I learned a lot on this film.
“I like love stories; I don’t think there’s enough of them made. What I found interesting about Something New was that these two characters were in their 30s and so there’s a little more hesitancy. They’re now a little more afraid to just go with their hearts. To Brian, it’s not about race or color, it’s just about men and women. He has a quiet confidence, and with him she starts to be more and more alive and in the moment.”
The screenplay called for a variety of friends and family members to orbit the two leads. As Baker remarks, “We have characters that are larger-than-life, because there are people in everyone’s life who are larger-than-life. They spice things up at certain times throughout the film.”
“Casting is so important,” emphasizes Allain. “When you have the right people in the right roles, the movie takes on its own life force. I think the cast we have in Something New responded to the material and responded to Sanaa as director.”
Kriss Turner notes that Kenya’s three closest girlfriends “all have her back. I think we all have that support network which is so important to us – especially when we’re not feeling so sure about something or someone.”
The talented trio of Golden Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, and Wendy Raquel Robinson were cast as Kenya’s girlfriends, who exhibit varying degrees of open-mindedness during the course of the film. Brooks says, “I gravitated towards this particular movie because it has a fresh take on interracial dating. For a black woman, there are dynamics like, do you have to overcompensate by being ‘more black?’ If you wear a weave, does that mean you’re ‘selling out?’ This movie touches on those things. At heart, it’s Kenya’s coming-of-age story. To have so many women on this project made it stronger and empowering.
“My character, Suzzette, is a woman who is onto a new thing every month; ‘Oh, we’ve got to eat for our blood type.’ She keeps her girlfriends up-to-date with what’s going on. She wants Kenya to be happy and not end up alone, so she challenges her to stop limiting herself.”
Henson remarks, “In America, we’ve made leaps and bounds with race issues, but I think we still have a ways to go. Go outside your zip code, and see how people are living. So this script interested me right away. Also, anytime Stephanie Allain calls me, I’m there, and I’d always wanted to work with Sanaa Lathan. Sometimes among women, because the roles are so few and far between, it can become a little catty. Not with this group; every day, it was a blessing to come to work because it was drama-free.
“Nedra’s point of view on Kenya’s relationship with Brian is, ‘Girl, what are you doing? Keep it real; you need a brother.’ But Nedra remains without a man, so she lives vicariously through Kenya and looks up to her.”
Meanwhile, girlfriend Cheryl (played by Robinson) also embarks on a relationship that takes her into new territory. Allain explains, “Our theme of love coming in all packages also applies to Cheryl’s story. She meets a great guy, Walter [played by Mike Epps], who happens to be more blue-collar than she is. When she first meets him, he’s got an apron on, and she thinks, ‘Oh, that’s not really the guy I’m looking for.’ But he wins her over with his personality and caring.”
Robinson says, “Cheryl is a successful and driven judge who has gotten a little bitter with the dating game. When she meets Walter, the chemistry is there, so she takes a risk and steps outside the box – and empathizes with what Kenya goes through with Brian.
“Something New tells a story that needs to be told, and is also an excellent date movie. There is a shortage of available men in Los Angeles; my own girlfriends lament the drama that goes with dating. If the heart’s not there, you can’t make a situation happen. But you also can’t judge a book by its cover, since you never know what’s inside a man just based on his exterior.”
Mike Epps offers, “I think Cheryl likes Walter because he’s a real guy. He’s got a sense of humor. As a chef, he’s not making the big money, but he does well enough for her to enjoy him and he treats her well.”
Something New (2006)
Directed by: Sanaa Hamri
Starring: Donald Faison, Rose Rollins, David Monahan, Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Golden Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Katharine Towne, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Russell Hornsby
Screenplay by: Lisa Jones, Kasi Lemmons, Kriss Turner
Production Design by: Mayne Berke
Cinematography by: Shane Hurlbut
Film Editing by: Melissa Kent
Costume Design by: Hope Hanafin
Set Decoration by: Casey Hallenbeck
Music by: Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual references.
Distributed by: Focus Features
Release Date: February 3, 2006
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