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Something New
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 Something New Production NotesTagline: She had it all under control. Except her heart.
While 42.4% of African- Americans have never been married, Kenya, a professional African-American woman is determined to do something about it. She is shocked to discover, however, that she's falling in love with a white landscaper.
Sanaa Lathan plays an African-American professional who's well aware that 42.4% of her race never gets married. Determined to find love, she falls for a white landscaper.
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. Then again, she does need the yard of her new house fixed up…
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.
About the Production
“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.”
Allain adds, “Sanaa, who is from Morocco, is a very visual director; her videos are lush and romantic.”
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.”
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Sanaa Lathan (center) in Something New.
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