Let me just first say that, in all fairness, we don't know what stage of the make-up process she's in here. So the final *look* after all the work is done (which may or may not include prosthetics), might be very different from what we see here. 

So, I wouldn't judge based solely on these pictures. 

However, what we could probably learn from the photos is that Zoe Saldana will likely be made-up to resemble Nina Simone as much as possible, afro and all. That was one of the questions many had, but director Cyntia Mort wasn't really asked by those who were able to get an interview with her (we weren't so lucky) – whether Zoe would play Nina exactly as Zoe looks (the thought being that maybe Mort was taking creative liberties beyond just the story, and would do so with the *look* as well – something similar to what Todd Haynes did with I'm Not There, his Bob Dyan film), or whether they'll use make-up to change Zoe's look, so that she looks more like the real Nina Simone; and if so, how much or how little, and would prosthetics be involved?

We see the afro, and it appears that her skin will be darkened (if you look closely at her face, you'll see some color gradation), from the 2 photos below.

But let's see what the first OFFICIAL image/clip from the film looks like; that'll tell us much of what we need to know.

These photos were submitted by a reader.

As was recently announced, Mike Epps joined the cast, playing Richard Pryor. And David Oyelowo will be Nina's Paris-based manager Clifton Henderson.

The film started filming this past week in Los Angeles, with Mark Burton, Barnaby Thompson, Stuart Parr and Ben Latham Jones producing.