Director Forest Whitaker was the unanimous first choice of the film's producers and screenwriters.
Although Whitaker had earlier directed an HBO drama called Strapped (1993) (TV) - for which he received Best New Director honors at the Toronto Film Festival - this film was his first job directing a full-length feature film.
Forest Whitaker stated in an interview with Ebony Magazine that Robin Givens and Halle Berry were among the women who auditioned for the role of Robin. After casting Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston, he decided to go with relative unknowns for the other two roles, and the role of Robin was subsequently given to Lela Rochon.