Nia Long: I was like, ‘I love this, and I want to do it.’ There was no question. There was also the excitement of, ‘Oh my gosh, my first leading role.’ And I think it shaped the rest of my career. Larenz Tate: My initial thoughts were: ‘I’m digging this character.’ And, being from Chicago, I found things in the movie that reflected what I knew. I also liked the idea of [Darius] being smart, and intelligent. The guy’s a writer. He’s creative. He’s artistic. I hadn’t done that. The script spoke to me.
The Film’s Impact:
Nia: I think Love Jones showed Black love in a way that we hadn’t seen on film in a very long time, specifically our generation of young people. It wasn’t the typical romantic comedy where it was about the jokes. I think the comedy was appreciated through the real-life situations. I also think it was pretty – the way it was shot, the lighting, the vibe of the movie was just very sexy and very cutting-edge. I think the film came out before its time, and I feel really lucky to be a part of something that has continued to resonate with people through all these years.
Larenz:I realized the impact when I would be walking somewhere and someone would be like, ‘Love Jones!’ I still meet women who say, ‘That’s in my DVD collection.’ I would talk to Nia, and she’d say, ‘That movie makes people go crazy.’ I also knew it was serious when brothers would come and say ‘Love Jones, man, that movie really helped me.’ It’s gotten so big that people do poetry Love Jones celebrations every single year, like Trekkies celebrate Star Trek.
Nia’s favorite scene: Nia: 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.
On the possibility of a sequel: Nia: There’s talk about it. Larenz and I, if we do it, we’re going to do it right, and we’re gonna do it together. It’s a classic film and it has to be handled as such. And if these two characters can grow in a realistic way and we can do the film in a way that still gives people the feeling of ‘Wow, there’s still movies about Black love.’
i love this movie for so many reasons but i’ll always appreciate Theodore Witcher for introducing this group of talented, educated and authentic young black people following a plethora of somewhat one dimensional characters in movies like BoyZ N The Hood and Menace II Society. For the record, i love both of these movies and they are classics. Nina, Darius and their group of friends however were professionals, artists and writers who hung out at Coffee Shops, Libraries and of course the Sanctuary, Spoken Word Cafe.
For these reasons, Love Jones was refreshing and right on time and i still watch it every other week.
Hobie: So, l have to ask you, how’d you go from living on the Upper East Side to St Louis? Melinda: l moved there for him. He was gorgeous. He was talented, he was sexy, he was a doctor, he was charming… Hobie: Yes, but where’s the attraction? Melinda: He just knew how to touch me. Hobie: You mean emotionally? Melinda: No, with his hands. l’m a very passionate person, so sex is very important to me. You know, l need a lot of physical intimacy very often and creatively. Hobie: Right. Right, right, right, right. No that’s… that’s… Yeah. Melinda: Am l being too frank? Hobie: No, no, no. No, l just uh…l’ll be Okay. l just get…I get hot flashes.
Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds? Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues? Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you’re getting fat and maybe it’s been raining too long, you’re just sad that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling? Paul Varjak: Sure. Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany’s. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that’d make me feel like Tiffany’s, then - then I’d buy some furniture and give the cat a name!
[narrating] After that it got pretty late, and we both had to go, but it was great seeing Annie again. I… I realized what a terrific person she was, and… and how much fun it was just knowing her; and I… I, I thought of that old joke, you know, the, this… this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, “Doc, uh, my brother’s crazy; he thinks he’s a chicken.” And, uh, the doctor says, “Well, why don’t you turn him in?” The guy says, “I would, but I need the eggs.” Well, I guess that’s pretty much now how I feel about relationships; you know, they’re totally irrational, and crazy, and absurd, and… but, uh, I guess we keep going through it because, uh, most of us… need the eggs.
I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood, and without making it look like my whole life is revolving around some guy… but loving someone, and being loved means so much to me. We always make fun of it and stuff but isn’t everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?
C.C. Baxter, insurance clerk and only a face in a crowd of 30,000 employees, has a little problem: He can’t use his own apartment. Since he once lent out his key to one of his superiors and his mistress, this custom has spread ever since. Now, different superiors from different departments take his place for their tête-à-têtes. Being promised not to be forgotten when it comes to shifts in personnel, C.C. Baxter swallows his anger - until he finds out that the mistress of Mr. Sheldrake, the company’s boss, and his recent flame, Fran Kubelik, are the same person. And they are using his apartment! Although Baxter has not been forgotten personnel-wise, the attempted suicide of Fran in his very own bed makes him think. Written by Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>
i have been wanting to sit down and watch this movie— preferably with a witty, good looking, art loving, intellectual of the opposite sex ever since i saw Rob Marshall’s lackluster (but still enjoyable) 2009 remake Nine but with the trouble i’m having finding that witty, good looking, art loving, intellectual of the opposite sex, i’ve decided to watch it tonight… alone! But from what i hear the film is shot so beautifully i wouldn’t pay much attention to a guy anyway!
Guido is a film director, trying to relax after his last big hit. He can’t get a moments peace, however, with the people who have worked with him in the past constantly looking for more work. He wrestles with his conscience, but is unable to come up with a new idea. While thinking, he starts to recall major happenings in his life, and all the women he has loved and left.
Chapter One: He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion. Eh uh, no, make that he, he romanticized it all out of proportion. Better. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin.Uh, no, let me start this over.
Chapter One: He was too romantic about Manhattan, as he was about everything else. He thrived on the hustle bustle of the crowds and the traffic. To him, New York meant beautiful women and street smart guys who seemed to know all the angles. Ah, corny, too corny for, you know, my taste. Let me, let me try and make it more profound.
Chapter One: He adored New York City. To him it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. The same lack of individual integrity that caused so many people to take the easy way out was rapidly turning the town of his dreams in - no, it’s gonna be too preachy, I mean, you know, let’s face it, I wanna sell some books here.
Chapter One: He adored New York City. Although to him it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. How hard it was to exist in a society desensitized by drugs, loud music, television, crime, garbage - too angry. I don’t want to be angry.
Chapter One: He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. Oh, I love this. New York was his town, and it always would be.
Mary Wilke: Isn’t it beautiful out? Isaac Davis: Yeah, it’s really so pretty when the light starts to come up. Mary Wilke: Yeah, I know. I love it. Isaac Davis: Boy, this is really a great city, I don’t care what anybody s-s - it’s really a knock-out, you know?
Let me break it down so it can forever and consistently be broke.
Now when a man gets a hard on, you know where the blood come from, right? You know where the blood come from, right? His brain and his feet. So… A) he’s stupid and B) he can’t run. Only a woman God could think of some shit like that!
Isaiah Washington as Savon in Theodore Witcher’s film Love Jones
