'Nina': See First Trailer for Zoe Saldana's Controversial Nina Simone Biopic
The good news is that Nina Simone is still getting a lot of attention. Fans applauded the 2015 documentary, "What Happened, Miss Simone?" and now, if they want, fans can watch Zoe Saldana as "The High Priestess of Soul" in "Nina."
The biopic's first poster was shared yesterday by Entertainment Weekly, followed today by the first trailer, which co-stars David Oyelowo as Simone's assistant-turned-manager, whom she met while in isolation in France.
"Nina" has had a long, rough road to this point, and it's still facing controversy. According to EW, Mary J. Blige was set to star back in 2010, but dropped out from scheduling conflicts. Saldana has faced criticism for being too light-skinned to play the legendary singer, and the actress doesn't seem to disagree.
Last June, Saldana told BET she turned the film down for a full year before saying yes, and only joined the project after people she deemed "more physically right for the part" passed on it. "If people would have known the whole story about what happened, they might have a different point of view. I did give it thought, and at the end of the day, I'm proud of my decision." Saldana also shared frustration with the film being kept on the shelf for three years, telling BET, "It's unfortunate that political and business reasons have prevented the director [Cynthia Mort] and myself getting our vision for what this story is, and a lot of inexperienced people have had undeserving power over this film."
But it's coming out now, and you can see "Nina" in theaters and on VOD on April 22.
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