On Oct. 22, 1999, a new urban film came out in theaters that introduced a young new director, Malcolm D. Lee, to the scene and jump started the careers of many from its cast members, including Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Terrence Howard and Sanaa Lathan, among others.

When 'The Best Man' opened, it was the #1 film that weekend with over $10 million at the box office. Produced by his cousin Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, the film cost $9 million and went on to make over $34 million overall. It also won the Outstanding Motion Picture at the 2000 NAACP Image Awards.

Ten years later, the film is still is considered a favorite among African Americans and one of the best romantic comedy films in the black community. Additionally, most of its cast members have done considerably well for themselves.

In speaking with Blackvoices.com, Lee commented on the film's impact, while Long and Howard briefly spoke on what they think their characters would be doing now. We also found out the whereabouts of most of the movers and shakers from the film, below.

How were you able to assemble such a talent group for your first film?

Malcolm D. Lee: The thing about the script at the time was that we had no lack of interest from the African American acting community in doing the movie. It was an opportunity to seeing black people being regular. These were characters who were smart anThe Best Man Malcolm Leed had multi-layered issues. They were fully developed characters, which black actors didn't get to play in other films ten years ago. Those scripts were rare. We were three to four deep with actors for every role. Having Spike Lee producing the film was also an enticement as well.

Were would you see your character at this point?

Terrence Howard: I think he was on his way to wisdom because he had a conscious that bothered him. He was discovering himself and he had found truth. He could be in a really Zen place or he could be in a really sinful place. It depends on what Malcolm would do.

Nia Long: She would probably be a talk show host doing very well because I imagine that she remained ambitious. Maybe it worked out that she married the Taye Diggs character.

Will you ever do a sequel?

Malcolm D. Lee: I've been and told a lot about making that. People have begged me to make a sequel and the idea has come up more than once. In the beginning when the movie first came out, there were talks about a sequel and even a television show. I didn't want to have just one story to tell so I was very resistant to that. I have been receptive in the past few years. I would say this; it would be a bit of a darker tone and dealing with different sorts of issues. I personally would like to go in a more dramatic route. I wouldn't rule it out. It's a possibility.