Wesley Snipes & Sanaa Lathan Bring Terry McMillan's Love Story `Disappearing Acts' To TV

Jet, Dec 11, 2000

Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan team up as romantic lovers in the HBO film Disappearing Acts, based on novelist Terry McMillan's best-selling novel of the same name.

Disappearing Acts airs this week (Dec. 9) on HBO and tells the bittersweet story of a somethings-employed Brooklyn construction worker, Franklin Swift (Snipes), and an aspiring singer-songwriter, Zora Banks (Lathan), who's about to get her big break.

Confronted with financial, social and job-related challenges, the couple is forced to test the strength of their relationship and their love in the heartwarming love story.

Rounding out the cast are Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Regina Hall, Kamaal Fareed (better known as rapper Q-Tip), John Amos, CCH Pounder and Michael Imperioli.

Snipes served as the film's executive producer along with Kimiko Fox. Shortly after HBO acquired the rights to the novel which sold more than 2 million copies when it was published in 1989, a deal was struck with Snipes' production company, Amen Ra Films.

"I first heard about the book a couple of years after it was published, and I thought it would be good for me to do a love story," recalls Snipes.

"I thought it was a great dramatic role in a good story about Black love and a chance to work with great actors. It was also an opportunity to expand Amen Ra Films' diverse interests in all genres of filmmaking."

Lathan, who won fame earlier this year in Love And Basketball opposite Omar Epps, is a big fan of McMillan's and was excited to do Disappearing Acts. "I read the book when it first came out, and I loved it. I always thought, `God, I would love to play Zora.' Terry McMillan's characters are so real and so modern. I knew the story and it was a dream role."

She says of her and Snipes' characters: "Both of these characters are struggling with their own dreams and struggling with how to do that and be in a relationship. And they learn that it is possible. Keep your eye on the prize and hang in there."

Disappearing Acts was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood from a script by Lisa Jones, Prince-Bythewood directed Love and Basketball. She is also the first Black woman to direct a film based on a McMillan novel.

"The hardest thing was not being able to put more of the book into the script," Prince-Bythewood explains.

Lathan was thrilled when she learned that McMillan was pleased that she was doing the Zora character.

"I was really kind of nervous about what she would think because here's this woman who created this character," she notes. "Halfway through the shooting, I went to my dressing room. There was a huge bouquet of flowers and a note that said, `I saw Love and Basketball and I am so excited to see you as Zora.' That was really nice."

A graduate of Yale School of Drama, Lathan's feature film credits include The Best Man in which she played the girlfriend of the best man played by actor Taye Diggs; Blade with Wesley Snipes, Life with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and The Wood.

Show business runs in Sanaa's family. Her father is famed director Stan Lathan, whose breakthrough work was "Sesame Street," followed by a long list of major hit series including "Sanford and Son," "The Waltons," "Miami Vice" and "Moesha."

Sanaa, who says her name is pronounced like "Sinatra without the tra,"--admits that her father Stan Lathan did not initially want her to go into show biz.

"At first he was a little hesitant because he knows it can be a struggle. The reality of any actor can be very grim. But once he saw that I was serious and that I was really studying and he came to see me in productions, he saw that I have talent and he became very supportive. And the one thing he tells me is `Do good work because it's about the career, it's not about one job.'"

In the book, Zora's character had a phenomenal singing voice, so the filmmakers decided to have Lathan lip sync to the pre-recorded voice of a professional singer--Melky Jean, who recorded an acclaimed 1999 debut album with her brother, Sedeck, under the name Melky Sedeck. The Jeans are a musical family--their older brother is superstar Wyclef Jean.

In addition to a rigorous course of piano lessons, Lathan had vocal lessons to help her realistically portray a singer. "I had to learn how to look like a singer, how to breathe and what mannerisms to use," she says.

Snipes describes his character, Franklin, as "a great guy," and adds, "He's just got some difficulties. Coming up against some of the obstacles that many young Black men face, I have drawn from experience in my personal life to create the character in this piece. Before I was a movie star, I was an unemployed actor, really struggling to make a living like everybody else. I can really relate to where my man is coming from."

Snipes hopes viewers will gain a greater appreciation of the hard work that goes into making relationships work. "I hope the viewers will appreciate a great dramatic story. I would also hope that it will heighten their sensitivity to the fact that there can be external forces that undermine healthy and great relationships. Forces that cause us to blame the ones we love and overlook the ones that love us."