Zoe Saldana to play Nina Simone - Update: Pics of Zoe on set as Nina.

[lyonbc1]

I don't really have too much a problem with it, if she plays the role well then it shouldn't really matter......Denzel is much darker than Malcolm X and that came out great. Obviously he;s a much more accomplished actor than Zoe but this will be interesting....let's wait till it comes out to cast judgment.

Hell they had to darken Forest Whitaker for Last King of Scotland and there was no real outrage there

The issue people have with the selection doesn't completely revolve around skin complexion. Zoe having features that actually are seen as attractive (straight hair, slim body, lighter skin) was the reason why people were disgruntled about it. Nina Simone, as a woman in this country, had more pressure to succumb to standards of beauty a lot more than a man. Her having course hair, really dark skin, and not having an ideal body weight, especially as a black woman in the mid-20th century, shaped her identity. With selecting Zoe, many felt it was promoting the very ideologies that outcasted women who look like Nina in the first place, decades ago, and outcastes them to this day.

Yeah I can definitely understand it coming from that perspective and the issues some people would have with that and Nina Simone's personal experiences..I just think if she really is dedicated to the role and respects the struggles that Ms. Waymon had to go through in her entire life and can deliver a great performance that honors a part of her life then I guess I feel that should be equally as important, she can't help her personal looks and they did try and alter her appearance to make her look more like Nina...now there definitely are other actresses who fit Nina's physical appearance better out there who people mentioned that are extremely capable actresses in their own rights, but I can see why the studio would want to take a "name", its just unfortunately a part of the business and Zoe's name could probably bring in more of an audience.

However I do think the much much bigger issue is that the surviving family, including her own daughter were not contacted or invited in any capacity to participate or contribute in any way with the story or the making of this movie...that gives me some more doubt about the project

 

[epidemik the great]

how you gonna put a black person in blackface???

 

[mr marcus]

ninjahood the one who need to read that quote

 

[jthagreat]

+wont even pretend to know what the real nina simone looks like+

 

[trasoul82]

Me either.
And idk why people get upset about her not having black men as her leading man in her movies....there's nothing black (African American) about Zoe Saldana, she's completely hispanic

Oh hell no... We're not gonna just slide past like you didn't just say that. One of her parents is Dominican. The other is Puerto Rican. She Black. Yes. I said "Black." Just because her ancestors' ships didn't make it to mainland "America" (much like Christopher Columbus), doesn't mean that she's any less "Black." Cat's get caught up in Latin-based last names. My last name is Allen and there's no way you'd mistake me for a Brit. In that same light, Zoe's last name was Allen you would just call her a light-skinned black chick.

 

[omgitswes]

last time I checked Dominicans and Puerto Ricans were hispanic. But I really don't care enough to get into a discussion so whatever you say champ

 

[trasoul82]

last time I checked Dominicans and Puerto Ricans were hispanic. But I really don't care enough to get into a discussion so whatever you say champ

Fine. Don't get into a discussion. But you need to check again.

 

[antonlavey]

Oh hell no... We're not gonna just slide past like you didn't just say that. One of her parents is Dominican. The other is Puerto Rican. She Black. Yes. I said "Black." Just because her ancestors' ships didn't make it to mainland "America" (much like Christopher Columbus), doesn't mean that she's any less "Black." Cat's get caught up in Latin-based last names. My last name is Allen and there's no way you'd mistake me for a Brit. In that same light, Zoe's last name was Allen you would just call her a light-skinned black chick.

Lol @ completely Hispanic wth does that even mean ninjahood2.0. Even Zoe says that she's black and I don't care that she smashes white dudes a lot of black men are hypocritical when it comes to black women doing anything outside their race. Apparently there is a gene that makes u inherently Hispanic and she has it 100 percent. Maybe of I start speaking Spanish and listening to gibberish over drums and a piano I can be Hispanic as well .

 

[trasoul82]

Lol @ completely Hispanic wth does that even mean ninjahood2.0. Even Zoe says that she's black and I don't care that she smashes white dudes a lot of black men are hypocritical when it comes to black women doing anything outside their race. Apparently there is a gene that makes u inherently Hispanic and she has it 100 percent. Maybe of I start speaking Spanish and listening to gibberish over drums and a piano I can be Hispanic as well .

Nah, you'd still be Black. That one drop rule only gets waived if they want them guts.

 

[antonlavey]

Nah, you'd still be Black. That one drop rule only gets waived if they want them guts.

I was being sarcastic that comment was for that variant ninja hood who claims Zoe is 100 percent Hispanic when Hispanic isn't genetically determined. By his definition is should be able to become Hispanic if I get naturalized into a Spanish speaking country. I wonder how Hispanic I need to be to be close to 100 percent Hispanic?

 

[thecoldest343]

Does Hollywood want to make an accurate representation of Nina Simone and parts of her life, or do they want to cast someone who will help them cash in?

Holllywood always wants to make a profit first then everything else come after.
Most of the movies coming out now are trash anyways,with the same cluster of superstar actors and actresses that play the same roles,over and over again;its redundant.
Hollywood is full of actors and actresses trying to get into the business and you mean to tell me that they can't find some new fresh talent ?.

:Thats why Independent films is thriving,burn hollywood burn.

 

[Master Zik]

last time I checked Dominicans and Puerto Ricans were hispanic. But I really don't care enough to get into a discussion so whatever you say champ

It's funny cuz even Zoe recognizes her roots and considers herself black.

 

[trasoul82]

I was being sarcastic that comment was for that variant ninja hood who claims Zoe is 100 percent Hispanic when Hispanic isn't genetically determined. By his definition is should be able to become Hispanic if I get naturalized into a Spanish speaking country. I wonder how Hispanic I need to be to be close to 100 percent Hispanic?

I got you...



And to add even more to your point:



Wiki entry: Hispanic

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race".[3 The 2010 Census asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino".
"The terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" refer to persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spanish speaking Central and South America countries, and other Spanish cultures. Origin can be considered as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race."[31]

 

[Master Zik]

That's the thing a lot of Hispanic choose to be ignorant about. It'll be a question of race and they'll bring up nationality or heritage. We talking about race though. If you white, you white, if you black you black. Don't matter about your culture when ppl can use their eyes.

 

[tommyicerocking]

Viola Davis would be good in this role

 

[thecantave]

+wont even pretend to know what the real nina simone looks like+

You dont want to know.

 

[futuremd]

Perfect role for Zoe, gets to play a black woman yet doesn't have to have a black male love interest. It's kinda her thing.

ninjahood the one who need to read that quote

 

[Kimchi Papi]

India Arie chimed in on the biopic...

http://www.okayplayer.com/news/india-arie-opinionon-nina-simone-biopic.html

From her music, you can gather that India.Arie is not one to accept politics as usual. Armed with humility, respect, a lot of ALL CAPS, and Twitter, the acoustic soul singer recently decided to voice her opinion on the questionable choices being made for the now highly controversial Nina Simone biopic. We’re probably never going to hear the end of this one…

In a tweet simply entitled “WHAT I FEEL ABOUT THE NINA SIMONE MOVIE,” India.Arie spanned all of her emotions as she opined on the choice to cast Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone and the pictures of the actor in blackface (call a spade a spade). There’s bewilderment: “this just looks WEIRD, it looks like a person in Black(er) face with a fake nose .. REALLY?!” There’s indignation: “DOES NOT THE ONE NINA SIMONE’S LEGACY DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS?” Anger: “THIS looks like a parody. if it has to be FORCED this hard somethings not right! i DO NOT LIKE these PICTURES. AT ALL.” Sarcasm: “If they were going to pick a person who looks NOTHING like Nina Simone… why not her Daughter Simone *shrug* just saying…” And finally, sadness: “these Images … just make me feel … Sad.”

All of India.A’s emotions stem from the irony that, as she points out in her post, Nina had to struggle because of her appearance. For her, as for many other Black women in the entertainment industry, opportunities were contingent on her skin, nose, and lips. The casting of Zoe Saldana barred more fitting Black women from getting work on the role, and in doing so spit on the struggles Nina endured.

While India finds dishonor in the casting choice, she does hold back judging Zoe Saldana. She writes “you NEVER know what People are MEANT to do,” suggesting that perhaps the actor was “BEING CALLED SPIRITUALLY TO PLAY THIS ROLE…” Coming from a Caribbean island and Christian household, I’m not really supposed to question the spirits… but really spirits?