Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner.
Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic and he is a successful, though unfulfilled music executive. As they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner...

QUEEN LATIFAH

Queen Latifah will next be seen in Miramax's CHICAGO with Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. She recently completed work on BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, in which she stars and serves as executive producer.

Since her screen debut in Spike Lee's 1992 film JUNGLE FEVER, Latifah has starred in SET IT OFF, which earned her a nomination for a Spirit Award in the Best Actress category; and co-starred with Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito in the critically acclaimed LIVING OUT LOUD. She was last seen in Universal's THE BONE COLLECTOR directed by Philip Noyce starring Denzel Washington.

Latifah recently starred in a film for CBS entitled "Living With the Dead," opposite Ted Danson. For two years she hosted a one-hour syndicated talk show appropriately entitled "Queen Latifah." Her first series "Living Single" was a huge success and is currently in syndication.

Latifah is also one of music's most well respected rappers. Since her ground breaking 1989 debut "All Hail the Queen," Latifah has earned three Grammy nominations as well as a Grammy® Award for Best Solo Rap Performance in 1994. Her upcoming album will feature celebrated artists such as Missy Elliot, Mary J. Blige and Method Man, and new artists Cole, Gotti and Picasso. Flavor Unit Entertainment, a company owned and operated by Latifah and her partner Sha-Kim Compere manages some of the biggest names in music.

In addition to music, film and television, Latifah has also written a book on self-esteem entitled Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman

MOS DEF

Mos Def recently appeared in MONSTER'S BALL with Halle Berry and opposite Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy in SHOWTIME. Other film credits include MTV's CARMEN: A HIP HOPERA and Spike Lee's BAMBOOZLED.

His work for television includes appearances with Bill Cosby on "Cosby Murder Mysteries" and MTV's hip-hop comedy series "Lyricist Lounge" as a producer, writer and cast member. He serves as co-executive producer, music supervisor and host of the HBO series "Def Poetry."

Def recently made his Broadway debut in the role of Booth in "Topdog/Underdog," with Jeffrey Wright. Directed by the acclaimed, George C Wolfe, "Topdog/Underdog" has won critical praise as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.

Def catapulted to hip-hop fame with the release of "Universal Magnetic" in 1996. With Talib Kweli, he formed Black Star, whose debut "Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are...Black Star" would become one of 1998's most important and critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. Def released a solo album, "Black of Both Sides," and appeared on "Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1" and "Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2," with Def performing on three tracks. Scheduled for release in 2003 is the debut album of the Black Jack Johnson Project, a band Def put together consisting of himself, Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish of Living Colour, Doctor Know of Bad Brains, and Bernie Worrell of Parliament Funkadelic.

TAYE DIGGS

Taye Diggs made an unforgettable feature film debut starring opposite Angela Bassett in Twentieth Century Fox's HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK. Diggs will next be seen in Miramax's screen adaptation of CHICAGO, opposite Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere and John C. Reilly. The film is scheduled for a December release.

He recently completed production on John McTiernan's BASIC, in which he stars opposite Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta.

Diggs is currently in production on Warner Bros.' "Untitled Jamie Kennedy Project" for director John Whitesell. He will next be seen in the futuristic thriller EQUILIBRIUM, opposite Emily Watson and Christian Bale.

Sanaa Lathan first worked with Rick Famuyiwa on his directorial debut, THE WOOD. She will next be seen opposite Denzel Washington in Carl Franklin's crime thriller OUT OF TIME.

SANAA LATHAN

Lathan received critical acclaim, including a Best Actress Award from the NAACP, for her performance in writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood's romantic drama, LOVE & BASKETBALL, with Omar Epps. She reunited with Prince-Bythewood for the HBO film "Disappearing Acts," starring opposite Wesley Snipes. Lathan also appeared in Malcolm Lee's THE BEST MAN opposite Taye Diggs. Her performance earned her an Image Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Additional feature film credits include Ted Demme's hit comedy LIFE; New Line's sci-fi thriller BLADE, with Wesley Snipes; and producer/writer/director Chi Muoi Lo's CATFISH IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE. Lathan's television credits include a series regular role on NBC's "Lateline" with Al Franken and a starring role in the CBS original movie "Miracle In the Woods" with Della Reese and Meredith Baxter.

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Lathan has performed on stage in numerous regional and off-Broadway productions including "Por' Knockers" and "A Movie Star Has To Star in Black and White" at The Public Theater. Last summer she appeared as Isabella, the nun, in a Shakespeare in the Park production of "Measure for Measure" at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

Directed by Rick Famuyiwa (THE WOOD), BROWN SUGAR stars Taye Diggs (HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK), Sanaa Lathan (LOVE & BASKETBALL), Mos Def (MONSTER'S BALL), Nicole Ari Parker (REMEMBER THE TITANS), Boris Kodjoe (LOVE & BASKETBALL) and Queen Latifah (THE BONE COLLECTOR).

The screenplay is written by Michael Elliot (LIKE MIKE) and Rick Famuyiwa based on a story by Elliot. The film is produced by Peter Heller (LIKE MIKE) and co-produced by Trish Hofmann (IGBY GOES DOWN). BROWN SUGAR marks Earvin "Magic" Johnson's first feature film as an executive producer.

"I always felt like all the great love stories weren't ones that had black people in them. I just wanted to create something really romantic that by the end of the movie, touched you," says Screenwriter Mike Elliot of his motivation for BROWN SUGAR.

Elliot decided to base the story on lifelong friends who, as adults, come to the realization that they are also in love with each other. Once he had worked with the basic concepts of the love story, Elliot placed Sidney and Dre against a background he was intimately familiar with, the world of hip-hop music. "I had the desire to create a love story inside a world that I loved. It just made sense," Elliot recalls.

Release Date: 18 Jul
Cert: 12
Running Time: 109 minutes
Distributer: Fox

Brown Sugar
Trailer/Title	Watch		Watch		Download
	Real Player		Windows Media		Windows Media
1. Cast Interviews					-