Nina Is That You? Zoe’s Transformation Is Complete

October 29th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

Source: FreddyO

Last week we showed you a few preliminary pics of Zoe Saldana’s transformation toward becoming the Nina Simone and from the looks of some new pics that have hit the Internet, the process appears to be complete. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll let you decide.

The good news is the prosthetic nose and new teeth are still there, the afro has been trimmed, and Zoe’s skin has been darkened. Is she a dead ringer for Nina? Not exactly. Can she pass with independent film special effects and lighting? Probably.

Though we’ve heard a great deal from Cynthia Mort, the director behind this project, and Nina Simone’s own daughter, Simone, one person who hasn’t said a thing about this lead role is Zoe Saldana herself. Perhaps she plans to just let her work speak for herself rather than answer the critics directly, as there are quite a few of them. Who knows, maybe she can blow this part out of the park.

Here’s another look at Zoe’s transformation. Shadow and Act has a few new photos as well. What do you think?

 

Source: FreddyO

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  • http://www.facebook.com/Divaland Erika Divaa Hill

    I can’t wait to see Christina Aguilera play Aretha Franklin. That’s gonna great. O_o

  • yata

    lets just support our sister maybe she will learn from this.

  • http://twitter.com/GREGORYABUTLER Gregory A. Butler

    The colorstruck ignorance around this issue is astonishing.

    Hollywood makes a film about a Black icon and casts a talented Black actress to play her – and we’re whining because the actress is somehow “not Black enough”?

    Seriously, folks?

    Crabs in a barrel!

  • Tee-tee

    Since people claim color doesn’t matter, then they might as well have gotten a white actress to play the role. There are white actresses that can act better than Zoe and adding a little more black face would not have been that costly.

  • http://twitter.com/DanDan_Nika Dan’Natural’Nika

    THIS IS OFFENSIVE! Why is it that someone that is an eight black can play a woman that was fully black and proud of it! They are so many actresses that could have played this part well yet they turn to prosthetics just to avoid casting them! If they are so willing to do this, why did they not cast Lucy Liu for the role of Marilyn Monroe since shes more known than Michelle Williams?? Its because Hollywood are still so racist that black is sooooooooooo many things, yet white is only one??? So disappointed! You couldn’t pay me enough to financially support this film by watching it! ugh!

  • dbatt001

    I am completely disgusted with this whole situation. I CANT! It makes no damn since, there are plenty of wonderful black actresses that could play Nina, but they are going through all this trouble to make Zoe look like her? I have never been impressed with her acting and if they could make this movie with a white actress without an epic backlash from the black community, they would. Zoe is the closest they are going to get.

  • entyce

    It is rare to see an actor/actress to come close to the original in a biopic. In my personal opinion, Jamie Foxx was by far one of the best. He absolutely nailed the role of Ray Charles. As for Zoe Saldana, I really don’t consider her a “great” actress. I don’t think she’s a bad actress either, it’s just she doesn’t fit this role. Hopefully for her and the director’s sake the movie turns out to be a success.

  • jackieOsassin

    i CANNOT with this. i have tried, and i just can’t. i don’t know which is more SMH worthy: the fact that the studios are still really really trying to make this work, or that white media is trying to goad it along with taglines like, “she looks JUST like the soul singer.”

    NO. get off drugs and open your corn-fed eyes. THIS IS NOT NINA. i feel like i’m taking crazy pills.

  • nikki

    im sorry this is a mess…

    • jackieOsassin

      a hot, slimy, sticky one where, once you touch it, you notice how different your hands feel afterward and you want to wash them to get it off but there’s no sink nearby so you do that awkward “pants wipe” thing but it’s still there.

  • Bannon

    I would have loved to see Audra McDonald play Nina Simone. They look similar (especially the nose and mouth) and Audra is a talented singer and actress. She also covered Nina’s work onstage, so she’s already familiar with Nina’s songs.

    • ange

      I totally agree with you

  • Dreama

    Sadly Zoe Saldana is the new Halle Berry. Apparently hollyweird only has room for one black actress (usually half black) at a time. They cherry pick these same two women to represent the black community over and over again. I’m not surprised Zoe was chosen for this role, she had the part way before she auditioned. It’s sad because so many other black actresses that didn’t require the prosthetics and are just as talented could have easily been used. Nothing against Zoe or Halle, but when is hollyweird going to realize these aren’t the only black actresses to choose from?

  • Tanycha

    The make-up adjustments look better than the first crop of pictures shown. But Zoe still doesn’t resemble or remind me of Nina Simone at all. Maybe her acting will fill in the gaps. It will be interesting to see her rendition of Nina’s speech and body language. I remember Nina as being powerfully sensuous with a speaking voice like deep water. I’ll go see it and I wish Zoe the best.

  • thatonegirl

    Why? I’m sure Tika Sumpter was available. Love me some Zoe but this role ain’t it.

  • http://twitter.com/jennaparks11 Jenna

    Why do ppl just keep throwing out dark skinned ppl that could have played her regardless if they’re actresses or not? India Arie, Mary J, hell J.Hud, aren’t true actresses and are at times unbearable to watch. This is what actors do, change characters! I just saw Cloud Atlas, ppl changed genders for godsakes…let the woman act and we’ll judge then!

    • thirtythoughts

      Yeeesss!!

    • artofblaqueness

      I think the problem here is that the makeup job that it took to get here to look like that is far too distracting for most people I think to even pay attention to the job she can do in the role. It looks like obvious blackface to me–that is all I can see, and it’s highly disturbing to me on many levels
      I can think of quite a few talented actresses who could have played that role without all the makeup, but unfortunately none of them have the name recognition they were obviously looking for by casting Zoe.
      Which is a sad commentary on how few young, brown-skinned actresses can reach such a level of success in Hollywood, because it seems only the light-skinned ones get to be superstars.

    • Guest

      Ummm… what are you talking about? First, Jennifer Hudson won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Dream Girls. Second, you clearly have ZERO understanding of just how twisted Hollywood has portrayed Blacks, particularly Black women. Case and point, will you ever see a Black actress playing Elizabeth Taylor or Black actor playing Julius Caesar in a major motion picture? Or a Black person playing any sort of white legend?

      As a biracial woman myself, I’m telling you that the fact that they are putting a light-skinned actress in BLACK FACE is a disgrace and an insult. Anybody saying otherwise doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about.

    • dbatt001

      I think you are missing the point Jenna

  • Guest

    She looks like C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man (1986).

    • http://twitter.com/rainydayzz01 RazzleDazzleMe

      OMG…that is true!

    • ANTMilf

      I remember that movie, LOL!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8210721 Joy Kamille

    2014: Justin Timberlake as Sammy Davis Jr and Channing Tatum is Joe Lewis?

    • Guest

      lmao!!! The sad, unfunny part is, though, I could totally see your scenarios happening.

    • Suchalady

      Eva Mendes as Maya Angelou. People aren’t getting it. It’s not about dark-skinned over light-skinned or a complexion division. It’s the slap in the face this film delivers, in that all of the actresses who bare a stronger resemblance and have more talent weren’t seen as good enough. And we know why…

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/thesapphireempress96?feature=results_main A.J.

    Honestly, she looks like she’s wearing blackface, and that disturbs me. It’s still not convincing, and I’m still not feeling this at all.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8210721 Joy Kamille

    What I hate most about this is the associated conversation about how ugly they had to make a women considered beautiful by european standards.
    WE all agree Nina Simone is a beautiful women but not by white traditional standards. We have an apperciation about ourselves and our variety found throughout the world and we never request any additional commentary. Now I believe Zoe is talented but the conversation around this isn’t going to be about what a spectaculr women Nina Simone was. It has been and will be whether Zoe can pull off this character and how unattractive they had to make her.
    Too much of a stretch for me. It;’s not even the skin difference as much as trying to give her african features. It’s insulting to Nina Simone. IMHO

    • dbatt001

      and the best comment on this article goes to you.

  • Candacey Doris

    I’m ok with this. It’s not perfect, but she’s a good enough actress to fix that. Let’s see how the film goes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/shamika.hinton Shamika Monique Hinton

    she better not sweat

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