10 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed To Know About “Hitch”

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the movie and get you excited for the highly-anticipated TV series on FOX, here are 10 things you might not have known about the movie featuring your favorite date doctor, Alex Hitchens.

1. Jennifer Lopez turned down the Lead Female Role

Yep, the role of Sara Melas was originally offered to “Jenny from the Block,” before landing on Eva Mendes. It ended up being a breakout role for Mendes, while Lopez decided to star in "Monster-In-Law," which raked in give-or-take $12.50 in Walmart DVD sales.

2. Sara Melas was not supposed to be Hispanic

According to Will Smith, the lead role was supposed to be played by a white woman, with the first choice being Cameron Diaz. Amazingly, studio executives at Colombia Pictures thought that an Black-White relationship was too risque, so they opted for a Black-Hispanic couple, instead. Ummmm...

3. Albert Brennaman is an eclectic individual

According to Albert’s notebook in the movie, his favorite movies are “Mannequin” and “Lord of the Rings,” while his favorite musicians are Celine Dion, Clay Aiken and Led Zeppelin. His taste of literature is even more interesting. One of Albert’s favorite books is “Knife Fighting Techniques from Folsom Prison.” But honestly, I feel like that is a majority of people's favorite book.

4. That’s Agent Pig to you!

Vance Munson, notoriously known as the misogynist who tried to hit-it and quit-it with Sara's friend Casey, might look familiar to you. Before playing Agent Michael Weston from the long-running USA show Burn Notice, Jeffery Donovan was our favorite obnoxious womanizer, who unfortunately learned all too quickly that you shouldn’t touch Hitch… ever.

5. Box-Office Smash

Will Smith continued his dominance at the box-office as this Rom-Com powered it’s way to #1 when it opened in 2005. With almost $44 million in its opening weekend, the movie quickly made back it’s $70 million dollar budget on it’s way to a $368 million dollar total! The movie stayed #1 for 3 weeks before being toppled by Tyler Perry’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”

6. Will Smith could use some advice of his own

While Alex Hitchens seems to always know what to do, Smith has made some questionable moves in his career that prove otherwise. After infamously rejecting the lead role in the Matrix to star in the worst thing since Baked Cheetos, “The Wild Wild West,” Smith also turned down the titular character in Django Unchained claiming that he needed to have a bigger role.

7. Yes, that’s Paula Patton in her film debut

Before romancing Robin Thicke and starring alongside the likes of Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise, Paula Patton appeared in a single-scene from this 2005 comedy. Hitch purposely mistakes her as a server to get her away from a group of men fawning over her, which the newly single Patton is certainly used to after divorcing that $600 hair cut.

8. Cressida? Aptly Named.

The name of Alex Hitchen’s first love, who cheats on him after he came on a little strong, wasn’t chosen randomly. In one of Shakespeare’s works, Cressida was the faithless mistress of Troilus, whom she betrays by forming a relationship with Diomedes.

9. Kevin James did NOT grow up in that Footloose town

After being recommended for the role of Albert by co-star Will Smith, James did not disappoint. According to director Andy Tennant, James came up with every single dance move for the scene in Hitch’s apartment, even the making of the pizza. James said that he and Smith definitely made the most of their time together. “It was fun because, after shooting, Will and I would eat a jar of pickles and tell each other secrets. It was so much fun!” SO. MUCH. FUN.

10. Welcome to Miami, Eva Mendes

Even before Will Smith became the first African American to be the male lead in a Romantic Comedy, he was blowing up our airwaves with rap singles such as, “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit’ It” and “Miami.” The latter of the two actually featured his future co-star Eva Mendes, but unfortunately, Smith failed to remember her. Ouch.