My burgeoning curiosity surrounding jazz singer Nina Simone started how all great obsessions come about, from Netflix.
Her biographical film "What Happened, Miss Simone?" came out during the summer of 2015. I've always been interested in her life because my mother had wanted to name me after her. It wasn't until she looked into the principles of Kwanzaa and liked the name "Nia" so much that she dropped the "n" and named me Nia Simone.
Once I saw the movie spring up on that "Recommended for You" list I was instantly intrigued and had to watch.
I learned a lot from watching this documentary. It opened me up to a lot of unknown and interesting aspects of her life. But one of the things that I really resonated with was how she embraced her Blackness.
During the beginning of her career, she wanted to be accepted in the music industry. So, she straightened her hair and aligned herself with the societal norm of beauty at that time.
It wasn't until later that, despite the racism that she was fighting against in the entertainment industry, that she embraced her African-esque features and let her natural hair flourish.
In an interview done with The New York times in 2012, Simone's daughter talked about her mother's strife growing up, "My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark..."
But, she never gave up despite the discrimination. She excelled and captivated audiences with her incredible, unique voice. Her appearance has played a big part in her growth as an authentic artist. In turn, to pick an actress to play her in a movie who looks so distinctly different from her is an odd turn of events.
Now, Zoe Saldana is a talented actress, but I don't believe this is the right casting to play Nina Simone.
In order to try to make the role more convincing, they slathered her in splotchy dark brown makeup and put a prosthetic nose on her face. It looks so fake that it makes the movie way less immersive. Check out this trailer for "Nina" that came out in early March and tell me what you think of this tiny snippet of her portrayal.
Would it have been too hard to choose someone who already resembles the actress?
Uzo Aduba (Orange is The New Black, The Wiz), Adepero Oduye (Pariah, 12 Years a Slave), or Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder,Suicide Squad) would have been incredible as Nina Simone. Uzo is my personal favorite: she's a classically trained singer and has grabbed two Emmys playing Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on Orange is The New Black. This seems like common sense to me, so why wouldn't it seem like that to a casting director?
Even Nina Simone's estate wasn't looking forward to Zoe Saldana's role as Nina Simone.
Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful. Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing. It shall pass, but for now...
— Nina Simone (@NinaSimoneMusic) March 3, 2016
Maybe Zoe will knock this role out of the park. Her acting chops may be so good that the wacky makeup job and the weird casting choice will pale in comparison to her portrayal. But, this looming over the movie's head right before its theatrical release isn't a good precursor for what the movie might have in store.
