It had been about two years since Sanaa Lathan and I had kicked it over a meal and we had a lot to catch up on. Just prior to our lunch at a Hollywood cafe I'd seen the trailer for "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys." Now, I'm not a huge Perry fan, but this time I think he's got it.\r
The film hits theaters in September and stars: Alfre Woodard (who also played Lathan's mama in "Love & Basketball" and "Something New"), Oscar winner Kathy Bates, Taraji P. Henson, Robin Givens, Cole Hauser and Rockmond Dunbar as Lathan's husband. It's the story of a wealthy black family with issues aplenty. Think "Dallas" meets "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Lathan plays a woman whom she decribes as character as "a trip."\r
This character is such a bitch in this movie," Lathan said. "It is the actor's job not to judge the character so I won't judge her but there's a moment in the script when she gets slapped and I guarantee you that the audience will cheer."\r
Alrighty then.\r
Lathan plays a much more likable character in "Wonderful World," an independent film she shot last year. She plays a Sengalese woman opposite Matthew Broderick. The film is currently being submitted to various festivals. And this fall she'll provide the voice of Donna, Cleveland Brown's wife in the animated Fox TV series "The Cleveland Show."\r
That's a lot of stuff happening. But can we ever get enough Sanaa? You be the judge!