Yesterday we posted the first movie poster for the upcoming Nina Simone biopic starring Zoe Saldana. The poster wasn’t great, and now the trailer for the film has been released and, unfortunately, it’s even worse.
It is obvious throughout that Saldana has copious amount of makeup applied to her face and body to maker her appear darker (why oh WHY did they not cast Viola Davis or Adepero Oduye??) Her afro wigs are inconsistent and she doesn’t come close to mimicking Simone’s distinctive voice. See for yourself…
*Sigh*
For reference, here is an interview Nina Simone did discussing why she is so unapologetically pro-black.
Ladies what are your thoughts?
She looks horrible.….she looks very much like someone who is wearing Blackface. It’s so obvious that its not her skintone that its just terrifying. She looks like a monotone mannequin painted a deep brown color. They really should’ve just cast one of the many talented, darker skinned, broader nosed Black women in the industry.
smh, I can’t even…
Not today, Satan. Not today. I rebuke this.
Sigh. As usual… the “black is black… one drop” diatribe (used by both light skinned elites and whites alike) rears its head to quiet the discontents of darker skinned women regarding our ongoing erasure in the media. The fact that a lighter skinned woman literally had to be painted dark and cloaked in prosthetics for a “dark skinned woman” to play the lead role (not a neck snapping, gum popping sidekick, or the domestic) in a major film says everything.
A disgrace. These people who made the film should be shame of themselves. Uneffing believable.
Build our own!!!!
CATASTROPHIC!!!
BLACK IS BLACK…stop dividing us.…what is wrong with the make-up…stop the nitpicking .…
Uh, no we are not going to stop talking about this. And no, just because we are acknowledging colorism, that does not mean we are being divisive or nitpicking. Zoe was clearly wrong for the role. Even she knew that. Hollywood and society in general constantly use colorism as a way to degrade black women in particular. Did you not hear about the casting call for Straight Out of Compton???? So before you tell people to be quiet you might want to do your research and understand how damaging colorism is for black women.
OK… Sure. but let them use Gwyneth Paltrow to play Halle Berry– two women who are actually closer in complexion/ hair texture and share more facial features in common, than Saldana and Simone– and you would be up in arms. Yes?
I don’t have a problem with Zoe…but another actress could have been used for this. I couldn’t even focus on the trailer because the make up was excessive and just terrible
I said this in another discussion on this topic: Two actors I enjoy and all I felt was anger as I watched that clip. Nina
deserves better. I think it would have served everyone involved better
if they had made a film like “The Rose.” It was loosely based on Janis
Joplin’s life because her family was against the story the studio wanted
to tell. They could have created a *character* that was based on Miss.
Simone. Then perhaps Zoe Saldana would not have to look like a hot mess
with all of that awful makeup.
Two actors I enjoy and all I felt was anger as I watched that clip. Nina
deserves better. I think it would have served everyone involved better
if they had made a film like “The Rose.” It was loosely based on Janis
Joplin’s life because her family was against the story the studio wanted
to tell. They could have created a *character* that was based on Miss.
Simone. Then perhaps Zoe Saldana would not have to look like a hot mess
with all of that awful makeup.
I’m just glad the story was made. Two outstanding actors. Makeup is bad, but let’s wait for the movie
Accept the story is bunk according to Nina Simones family. It involves a romance in the movie between Simone and someone who in real life is gay.
I hear you — I think the story of this magnificent woman was past due for the big screen — her music is phenomenal. Just sad for all the controversy.