{blackbabes} Nia Long pleased with 14-year holiday for 'Best Man' sequel

It's been nearly 15 years since director Malcolm D. Lee's directorial debut The Best Man hit theaters, and fans are just now getting a chance to catch up with his beloved characters.

The Best Man Holiday is out Friday, and star Nia Long says the long wait is a positive.

"If you think about it and look at real-life time, in 15 years, so much happens. People get married, there's death, there's birth, there's breakups, there's career change. There's all of these things that make life so enriched," she says. "I think the 15 years is actually a good thing, because it wouldn't be as interesting if it was only five years later."

The film franchise follows a group of college friends who have weathered love, infidelity, kids, success, failure and fame over the years. In Holiday, they spend Christmas together and, as in all romantic comedies, hijinks ensue.

"We have the characters that people are excited about and then you have the actors that people are excited about," Long say of her co-stars Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Sanaa Lathan, Harold Perrineau, Regina Hall and Melissa De Sousa. "The combination is just pure excitement."

So, why did it take almost a decade-and-a-half for the sequel to come to fruition?

"We've all gone on to do amazing things," Long says. "The reason it took so long is because we were all busy. I think Malcolm really wanted this project to be special and to make a difference and to be something we can all be proud of. He took his time."

When Lee called Long about coming aboard for the sequel, she didn't hesitate.

"I think he toyed with the idea for many years, and then it became real for him I would say in the last (two years). He called me and said, 'What do you think about this?' And, I said, 'I think people are going to be curious to see what happened in these characters' lives.' "

Long, 43, says her own personal transformation certainly helped add richness to her leading role as career-driven, independent Jordan Armstrong, who in Holiday is working on her commitment issues with boyfriend Brian (Eddie Cibrian).

"I think about how hard-headed I was and how overconfident I was at 30 and then you start to move into the mid-30s, and you go, 'Holy guacamole -- I don't know jack!' Those are the times when you have to learn all those amazing life lessons that I think, for myself, I've become a much better woman, a stronger woman. I'm really clear about the things that I want and the things that I need. My priorities are in order."

And, Long will have even more life lessons under her belt should a third Best Man come to life in, say, another 15 years.

"I still have a lot of growing to do, but I've almost come to the place of balance and emotional maturity. There's always room to grow, and I think that's what makes life great, but I will say that the 15-year mark has been great for us personally as actors, and then also as the characters."