Related Resources • "Juwanna Mann" Photo Gallery • Short Interview with Miguel Nunez at "Scooby-Doo's" Premiere • Movie Reviews • Upcoming Romantic Releases • Recently Released or New on DVD • Action/Adventure Movie News, Reviews and Interviews    Elsewhere on the Web • "Juwanna Mann" Websites

In "Juwanna Mann" Miguel Nunez stars as Jamal Jeffries, a bad boy basketball player with a rotten attitude. After his exploits get him booted from the NBA, Jamal dons a wig, fake boobs and transforms himself into Juwanna. Joining the WNBA, Juwanna plays with the same selfish style as Jamal.

Team captain Michelle Langford (Vivica A. Fox) is assigned the task of teaching Juwanna how to be a team player. As Jamal/Juwanna becomes closer to his teammates, he finds himself falling for Michelle, despite the fact she has a boyfriend.

Nunez and Fox recently sat down to discuss the film and the process of becoming a woman:

MIGUEL NUNEZ (Jamal/Juwanna) and VIVICA A. FOX (Michelle)

Did you study with basketball coaches?
MN: Oh yeah. It was intense.

VF: We trained with Colleen Matahara from USC in L.A. for about a month. Then we went down to Charlotte, North Carolina where we filmed and we trained with Tammy Bagby who was a professional basketball player. She had some girls who were on summer vacation from the WNBA and they ran the living daylights out of us. They really did. We trained in a community college that had no air conditioning.

MN: The gym was called 'The Oven.'

VF: I sweated, oh my God.

What did you learn how to do?
VF: Well, I played basketball in high school but I hadn't really played since then, so my sneakers were a little dusty. It was basically picking back up the fundamentals and plays, and learning to set your picks.

MN: It's just that schoolyard basketball is different. A schoolyard shot is different than an NBA shot. A schoolyard lay-up is different than an NBA lay-up. Most people shoot like this [indicating wide elbows] but it's little simple things. NBA shots are always here [indicating elbows tight to the body]. If you see anything different, you will know. You can tell from a shot the person never played professionally because of the fundamentals.

VF: The director, Jesse, really wanted us to look [convincing].

MN: He had doubles for us, excellent doubles, but he wanted to be able to use us in as many shots as possible to keep from having to use them. And, as a matter of fact, he had planned to use doubles in a lot of shots, which he didn't have to because he said that we got it down pretty good.

What's the difference between playing with men and women?
MN: What's the difference? It's just some boobs. You try to play around them. That was the hardest part.

Did you shave or wax?
MN: Wax. I have a whole newfound respect for women and the process they take for getting ready. Guys, let your woman take all the time they need. I was the one telling my wife, “Please, it doesn't take anybody this long to get dressed.” I'll tell you, to pluck, wax, lift, separate, twist, and tuck. I would tell my wife if we're going out to dinner, “Just throw on anything. What difference does it make? Just throw on something and go.” Now I'm with her while she's getting ready going, “Oh, that's cute. Do they make it in a 34?”

How many looks did you go through?
MN: At least 15. I had to go to this makeup artist in New York. I had to sit there for the entire three-hour process and then they would take pictures, and send them to the studio. The studio would go, “No, that's not it.” They would either give them another shot or move on.

VF: He ended up using my makeup artist. I had a really wonderful makeup artist. Her name is Kate Bess and she's done a lot of magazines and works with Vanessa Williams. I actually met her on "Soul Food." For me, as a natural basketball player, I didn't have to wear a lot. I said, “Why don't you give Kate a try?” And it was like magic. I think she really made him look pretty.

MN: I'd have went out with me.

VF: And it wasn't overdone. It wasn't like a transvestite, drag queen.

MN: That's what we didn't want.

VF: And that's what everyone else had given him.

Did you study the great drag movies?
MN: No, none of them whatsoever. I didn't know how I was going to do it. I'd sit in front of the mirror and put a wig on and practice my speech, trying to get it real so I didn't sound like a guy trying to sound like a woman. I was still trying to figure it out the night before I got there, still didn't have it. The last night before I got ready to film, I had a dream and I started dreaming about being back home in my little town in North Carolina. I was trying to think about who best reminded me of this character and I thought about this country-ass girl that used to live right next door to me, and I said, “Her, that's exactly it.” I thought about some of the lines I had to say and I thought about how she would say them, and that was it.

What's that girl's name?
MN: If she found out, she might want residuals. Everyone in North Carolina will be, “That's me. I know it's me.”

Were you looking for a starring role? Did you go through other projects before you came to this?
MN: No, not at all. I was just looking for a project that was not just a comedy. It had to have heart. It had to be something I could really get into and show some acting ability or all you're going to get is do this comedy and then do the next comedy and the next comedy, unless it's a role that really can show what you can do. That's what I was looking for and that's exactly what this is.

How do you feel about the release date?
MN: I'm glad it's coming out when it's coming out. I'm glad they did everything they did. What happened was there was a supposed writer's strike so everybody pushed stuff into production. There was a big article in 'Variety' or 'Hollywood Reporter' that stated “Too many movies, too few opening weekends.” They rushed so much stuff that there were like seven and eight movies coming out per weekend. They said, “No, we're not going to lose this. This is too good. We're going to hold it off and let all this stuff go by.” So then they held us for that. Boom, then 9/11 came. Okay, now we've got to wait all that [out]. Now it came out during the best sports finals series.

VF: There's a lot of high visibility.

MN: So we've got a lot of high visibility and I think everything is timing. I think the timing's right for "Juwanna Mann."

What did you learn about women?
MN: I don't want to be one. Really, they've got it so hard. They've got to do so much. Guys can just get up in the morning, brush your teeth and that's it really. If you wanted to, a guy could brush his teeth, wash his face, put on a hat and go. A woman can't do that. Maybe once. Then her mustache starts coming in and her ankles start growing hair.