The biopic that received an immediate and resounding “no” is gearing up for its promo process. Zoe Saldana stars as Nina Simone — whose recent documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? captured audiences on Netflix — in a film about the singer’s relationship with her manager. A trailer has not been released for the biopic, also starring Golden Globe Award nominee David Oyelowo as Simone’s manager, Clifton Henderson.
The film has been in production for a few years now, and continues to be met with backlash, primarily for the casting of Saldana, who has clear disparities of resemblance to the late pianist.
In regards to the controversy, Saldana told BET last summer, “An artist is colorless, genderless… It’s more complex than just ‘Oh, you chose the Halle Berry look-alike to play a dark, strikingly beautiful, iconic Black woman.’ The truth is, they chose an artist who was willing to sacrifice herself. We needed to tell her story because she deserves it.”
*Looks at the poster for the Nina Simone biopic that stars Zoe Saldana* pic.twitter.com/kE33G2svJB
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) March 1, 2016
The movie will be released in theaters on April 22.
Will you be seeing Nina when it hits theaters?
