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

[Kimchi Papi]

Zoe on the set of the Nina bio pic...

Some tunes for the thread...

Nina Simone - Feeling Good





Nina Simone - I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl

 

[Fresh Like Will]

^

Did they really give her a prosthetic nose? Woooow. That's not a good look.

I don't understand why they would rather have Zoe Saldana look like this ghoulish 80's horror movie villain instead of picking someone who is a closer representation of Nina. They're trying to do whatever they can to justify using her instead of picking someone who fits the role better.

 

[|A-Man|]

Yall should look at Zoe's movies before she got that bigger break. Gotta look hard cuz in some of these profile pages the movies aren't even listed. She's in a ton of hood movies or movies geared toward a black audience playing a black woman getting turned out by black men.

Her personal life shouldn't have any bearing on what roles she chooses to portray.

 

[big j 33]

^


Did they really give her a prosthetic nose? Woooow. That's not a good look.

I don't understand why they would rather have Zoe Saldana look like this ghoulish 80's horror movie villain instead of picking someone who is a closer representation of Nina. They're trying to do whatever they can to justify using her instead of picking someone who fits the role better.

Wasn't one of the complaints she didn't bare a resemblance to Nina? So what's wrong with them adding prosthetics to make her look more similar? 

 

[Fresh Like Will]

Did they really give her a prosthetic nose? Woooow. That's not a good look.

I don't understand why they would rather have Zoe Saldana look like this ghoulish 80's horror movie villain instead of picking someone who is a closer representation of Nina. They're trying to do whatever they can to justify using her instead of picking someone who fits the role better.

Wasn't one of the complaints she didn't bare a resemblance to Nina? So what's wrong with them adding prosthetics to make her look more similar?

Uh.

 

[longstroke]

I hadn't even heard of this....the make up on the profile looks dead on, but I would have dragged Lauren Hill out of her self imposed exile for this one.

 

[alchemist iq]

This mobvis is a great tribute to the late nina simone, but c'mon Zoe saldana can she even sing? Mary J Blige who was suppose to the play should have forced herself to play the role.

 

[jhawk826]

If this isn't proof that Hollywood desperately needs more black actors and actresses then I don't know what is. This is a joke to be honest.

 

[mr marcus]

If this isn't proof that Hollywood desperately needs more black actors and actresses then I don't know what is. This is a joke to be honest.

 

[rusty shackelford]

If this isn't proof that Hollywood desperately needs more black actors and actresses then I don't know what is. This is a joke to be honest.

Shhh you're making too much sense.

 

[big j 33]

Did they really give her a prosthetic nose? Woooow. That's not a good look.

I don't understand why they would rather have Zoe Saldana look like this ghoulish 80's horror movie villain instead of picking someone who is a closer representation of Nina. They're trying to do whatever they can to justify using her instead of picking someone who fits the role better.

Wasn't one of the complaints she didn't bare a resemblance to Nina? So what's wrong with them adding prosthetics to make her look more similar?

Uh.

Uh what exactly? If you're basing your entire opinion of what she'll look like on film, over one picture of her on set, then cool. But I'll reserve judgment on the makeup until I see her officially. I recognize you want someone who looks more like her.. but isn't this better than nothing? If the other option would be to have Zoe without any prosthetics and look less like Nina... or add prosthetics to look more like Nina, which makes more sense?

I understand the frustration that there isn't enough black actors in Hollywood, and I share that sentiment, but people are talking like there's zero chance she might be a good actor for the role? Appearance wise, yes, I won't argue that. But is it better to cast a inferior actress who looks like Nina? Or better to have a stronger actress who looks less like her. You can always add makeup and prosthetics to make someone look more similar, but you can't add anything to make a better actress. 

 

[omgitswes]

If this isn't proof that Hollywood desperately needs more black actors and actresses then I don't know what is. This is a joke to be honest.

agreed. I made a thread here like a year or two ago about the fact that there aren't many black A list actors at all.
Most of these roles are given to musicians or other black celebrities. It must be extremely hard for any young person of color to make it in Hollywood with their main goal of just being an actor.

 

[tennhouse2]

Yall should look at Zoe's movies before she got that bigger break. Gotta look hard cuz in some of these profile pages the movies aren't even listed. She's in a ton of hood movies or movies geared toward a black audience playing a black woman getting turned out by black men.
Her personal life shouldn't have any bearing on what roles she chooses to portray.

Your missing the point....all those hood movies your refrencing were way before she was a big time actress, do u really think she had any pull on what roles she wanted to take or who her love intrests were at that point in time?.....And people dont care who she likes in her personal life, if she likes white guys she likes white guys no biggie. But she shouldnt make her personal prefrences a driving force in what films she decides to take

 

[Fresh Like Will]

You asked whats wrong with adding the nose when I already said why. No point in repeating it.

What constitutes Zoe Saldana as higher caliber? I understand she is "more appealing to a wider audience" than her contemporaries. Which makes her more bankable in the movie business and better for the bottom line, but what about her body of work makes her more appropriate for this role?

Nina Simone's daughter isn't even a fan of the choice. Someone who was raised by the woman who is now being portrayed on screen. Someone who knows her better than anyone. I'm not saying get Nina Simone's duplicate regardless of acting and/or singing ability, but crudely rearranging someones face in this weird unnatural looking get up isn't good either. A lot of us just think there are better choices. Regina King, Anika Rose, Jennifer Hudson, Kimberly Elise, Nicole Beharie...

 

[bleach]

If this isn't proof that Hollywood desperately needs more black actors and actresses then I don't know what is. This is a joke to be honest.

it's not that there aren't black actresses capable of playing the part

it has more to do with what the white mainstream media finds aesthetically acceptable when it comes to a 'black' woman

 

[kb8 3qwick]

"Zoe Saldana was born in New Jersey and raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic where they would live for the next 7 years."

"Her father is of Dominican descent; her mother is Puerto Rican."

This is from imdb.com

 

[shogun]

Since Rosario Dawson was mentioned, I was surprised to see her talk about her boyfriend. This old guy:

He looks like an older Harry Potter.

 

[julius wrek]

Hey_

Danny Boyle is smashing Rosario Dawson?

Huh.

Who woulda thunk it.

Julius F. Wrek

 

[mugen81]

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

To me it's more about these females that use black men to get ahead/name for themselves( Jennifer Lopez,Zoe Saldana, Kerry Washington) but once white or general America excepts them they start to stray away of films that got them hot or date white guys to stay relevant or etc... At the end of the day I am never going to d*ck these chicks down so doesn't matter to me and they should have really planned this movie out, they picked this boney *** chick with no vocals to do Nina Simone, seriously, smh

 

[jubilantoutlier]

I don't have a problem wit' this.

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

Reptile that you?
1. She was born in U.S. to parents of African descent.  Those kinds of people are called African Americans.

2. Seeing as she has African blood from either one or both of her parents, that would make her partially black.

3. Look at that bulbous nose, breathing all the white man's air

 

[Peep Game]

Every Zoe thread ends up like this, so I'll just post something else that's been in all her threads as well:

"“I’m just Zoe. Not a little bit Dominican, not a little bit Puerto Rican, none of that silliness…I am what you want me to be if that’s what it takes for you to overcome your insecurities. As a Latina, I think we should be very proud of our heritage. We tend to look for European roots and reject the indigenous and the African, and that is disgusting. Being Latin is a mix of everything. I want my people to not be as insecure, and to adore what we are because it’s beautiful.”

 

[Master Zik]

Yall should look at Zoe's movies before she got that bigger break. Gotta look hard cuz in some of these profile pages the movies aren't even listed. She's in a ton of hood movies or movies geared toward a black audience playing a black woman getting turned out by black men.
Her personal life shouldn't have any bearing on what roles she chooses to portray.

Your missing the point....all those hood movies your refrencing were way before she was a big time actress, do u really think she had any pull on what roles she wanted to take or who her love intrests were at that point in time?.....And people dont care who she likes in her personal life, if she likes white guys she likes white guys no biggie. But she shouldnt make her personal prefrences a driving force in what films she decides to take

You think she had any pull on the movies she's on since she's become famous? You think she has say on the color of the skin of her character's romantic interest? Who do yall think Zoe Saldana is?

There is no point I'm missing. Yall were saying she's in movies as a black/latina actress only messing with white dudes, well in fact she was messing with plenty black dudes before she got more famous. She's a good actress but not in demand so she has no pull or say on she has to kiss in a movie. At best all she can do is turn down movies she doesn't want to be in. Yall keeping track of who she's messing with on screen are inconsistent

You need to step back and take a look at who black actresses love interests are in movies in Hollywood period. You guaranteed to see Halle Berry tonguing down Tom Hanks in that Atlas movie. Stop acting like Zoe is the only actress in that situation.

Every Zoe thread ends up like this, so I'll just post something else that's been in all her threads as well:

"“I’m just Zoe. Not a little bit Dominican, not a little bit Puerto Rican, none of that silliness…I am what you want me to be if that’s what it takes for you to overcome your insecurities. As a Latina, I think we should be very proud of our heritage. We tend to look for European roots and reject the indigenous and the African, and that is disgusting. Being Latin is a mix of everything. I want my people to not be as insecure, and to adore what we are because it’s beautiful.”

Just in case these ignorant fools wanted to scroll past this.

 

[Mark Antony]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...imone-dons-signature-head-wraps-new-film.html


Damn, I don't know how to feel about it now after seeing these pics.

 

[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

 

[roc boy jada]

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.