Why "Nina" Could Be One of the Biggest Critical and Commercial Failures of All Time

 

Not everyone can be as dope as Denzel Washington was in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992); in fact, many people to this day still feel like Washington was cheated out of an Academy Award for his stirringly convincing portrayal.  (Surprise, surprise.)  Angela Bassett rose to new heights with her Oscar-nominated performance as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)--not to mention that Laurence Fishburne was so Ike Turner that you had to remind yourself not to hate him in anything else!  Delivering an Oscar-winning performance in Ray (2004), Chris Rock recently drove home this point: "Jamie Foxx was so good in Ray that they went to the hospital and unplugged the real Ray Charles.  It's like, 'We don't need two of these!'"  In these instances, it is evident that casting the right people to play real-life legends can be done.  However, not all biopics are created equal.  Bringing the late, great Notorious B.I.G. to the big screen was met with mixed results in Notorious (2009)  as it seemed to place film co-producer Sean "Puffy" Combs in more of a favorable light while pissing off Lil' Kim and many of her faithful fans for how she was portrayed.  Also see one of the biggest casting failures of all time as Flex Alexander was selected to play Michael Jackson in Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story (2005)--a film produced for VH1 that did not even feature any of Jackson's songs, but merely mentioned them in passing.

So when the news first broke in 2012 that Zoe Saldana was picked to play legendary singer, songwriter, musician and influential civil rights activist Nina Simone, most people were not thrilled.  (At the time, I don't think that most people knew that she was actually replacing Mary J. Blige in the role, who was originally brought on in 2010 but ultimately parted ways because of financial issues.)  Criticisms were aimed in her direction because she was viewed as being too light-skinned to play the role.  Then pictures of her wearing darker makeup, a prosthetic nose and fake teeth surfaced and (as Paul Wall was once known to say) "had the Internet goin' nuts", but definitely not in a good way.  Finally, the announcement of a long-awaited April 22 release date came last week accompanied by perhaps one of the most infamous movie trailers in recent memory.  By then, I was convinced of one thing: Nina is going to fail miserably, which is disappointing to the legacy of one of the most revered voices and dynamic minds of the 20th century.  Time to rant...

YOU CAN'T GET INTO THE CHARACTER OF NINA SIMONE WITHOUT THE CHARACTER OF NINA SIMONE.  First and foremost, let me set the record straight: I have absolutely nothing against Zoe Saldana as a person or as an actress.  In fact, I believe that anyone who has the opportunity to play such a complex individual like Nina Simone should've jumped at the chance because it could be the role of a lifetime.  However, let's tackle the first reason why I question Saldana being cast in this role--a reason that has little to do with her skin color or acting ability: she doesn't fully share the same train of thought about racial identity and pride as the person she's playing.  Simone gave us this gem of an interview where she explained the necessity of asserting her Blackness:

I think what you're trying to ask is why am I so insistent upon giving out to them that Blackness, that Black power...pushing them to identify with Black culture...I have no choice over it in the first place.  To me, we are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world--Black people--and I mean that in every sense, outside and inside.  To me, we have a culture that is surpassed by no other civilization...my job is to somehow make them curious enough or persuade them by hook or crook to get more aware of themselves and where they came from and what they are into and what is already there, to bring it out.  This is what compels me to compel them and I will do it by whatever means necessary.

On the flip side, Saldana--whose late father was from the Dominican Republic, mother is from Puerto Rico and who has Haitian and Lebanese roots--has been up and down in taking pride in her rich heritage.  In a 2013 interview with Allure magazine, she spoke about the initial criticism: "It doesn't matter how much backlash I will get for it.  I will honor and respect my Black community because that's who I am."  However, days after the Allure photo shoot and interview, she made these remarks in a BET interview:

I find it uncomfortable to have to speak about my identity all of the time, when in reality it's not something that drives me or wakes me up out of bed everyday.  I didn't grow up in a household where I was categorized by my mother.  I was just Zoe and I could have and be anything that I ever wanted to do...and every human being is the same as you.  So to all of a sudden leave your household and have people always ask you "what are you, what are you" is the most uncomfortable question and it's literally the most repetitive question.  I can't wait to be in a world where people are sized by their soul and how much they can contribute as individuals and not what they look like.

Let me be clear: I understand Saldana's defense.  In a perfect world, all "people of color"--a term along with "ethnic" that she wrote off as "preposterous"--would love to be first judged by the content of our character before the color of our skin ever has to be considered or mentioned.  We would all like to be our names in lieu of the assumptions about our races and ethnicities.  However, while I understand her frustration, I also feel like she kinda missed the boat--especially playing someone as strong in her views about race as Nina Simone.  

Because so many within the majority of our society have denied everything and anything originating with Black culture while simultaneously coveting and appropriating those things, Simone wore her Blackness on her sleeve perhaps more than her heart; then again, her Blackness and her heart were quite inseparable.  She had no issue with frequently speaking about her identity because it wasn't a burden to her, but rather a calling card of sorts because she knew the historical depth and cultural richness associated with Black people.  Plus, she knew that there were no days off from being Black because American society wouldn't afford her the luxury.  Grammy-winning singer India Arie, who once played Simone in a 2003 episode from NBC's period drama American Dreams and considers herself one of Simone's musical descendants, had an interview this month with The Hollywood Reporter delving into the importance of Simone's identity: 

Nina Simone is from a small sorority of women who came from being considered the least valuable human beings in all of America--a dark-skinned Black woman from Jim Crow South, from very oppressed societal situations, like Maya Angelou being abused because you're just a Black girl, Oprah being abused because you're just a Black girl--and who became self-defined and venerated and successful and influential and made history.

As Arie suggests and unlike what Saldana asserted for her own struggle, Simone's Blackness did drive her because she viewed it as something of which to be proud and whence a source of power could be derived.  Hence, I can only imagine how tough it was for Saldana--who went so far as to move out of her own house for three months and wasn't talking to anyone she knew in order to "be all things Nina"--to get into character because she doesn't consistently share that same point of view.  Now we get to perhaps a more troubling reason why I take exception to Saldana's casting in the role...

STARRING ZOE SALDANA, ALSO PLAYING THE ROLES OF MARK WATSON AND KIRK LAZARUS.  When C. Thomas Howell got cast as Mark Watson, a white man who temporarily darkens his skin to qualify for a Black-only scholarship into Harvard Law School in Soul Man (1986), he probably should've run for the hills as it was the most controversial and critically panned film of his 39-year acting career.  On the other hand, Kirk Lazarus, played by Robert Downey, Jr. in the critically-acclaimed Tropic Thunder (2008), was a character spoof about the great lengths that many actors have gone to in order to play a particular role.  In fact, Downey was a bit hesitant to playing in "Blackface" until Ben Stiller and others helped him to put his character in context of the satirical action comedy.  However, maybe Downey's role was a forecast of what Zoe Saldana would be forced to do in order to play Nina Simone.  A lot of folks are saying and thinking, "There's nothing wrong with her playing this role, but she should've refused to do Blackface."  Before we go there, let's quickly go over the difference between playing in "Blackface" and what Saldana is actually doing...

Beginning in the American theater around 1830, White "Blackface" performers began using burnt cork before graduating to shoe polish and greasepaint to darken their skin and exaggerate their lips.  The psychology behind this misrepresentation of Black people was to perpetuate racially-prejudiced stereotypes and sell this as "Black culture" throughout the United States and abroad, especially in Great Britain where this part of the minstrel show tradition outlasted the one here into the early 1980s.  Now Saldana is not playing Blackface in the traditional sense because she is using actual makeup to darken her skin--arguably no different than Flex Alexander going in reverse to lighten his skin and play post-Thriller Michael Jackson.  However, one could question the use of a prosthetic nose as well as fake teeth.  Blackface was built around exaggerated features, so the fact that Saldana has to exaggerate those particular features in order to look more like Simone is highly problematic.  Furthermore, if they're making Saldana go there, then why not exaggerate her lips more, too?  So when there are those who fail to understand what the big deal is about Saldana playing Simone, it has very little to do with her actual skin color or heritage and more to do with the fact that these lengths had to be taken--especially when you consider the next section...

NINA MAKES CHRIS ROCK LOOK LIKE A PROPHET...OF SORTS.  During his Oscars monologue, Rock said three simple words: "We want opportunity."  Although his diatribe was more of a plea for Black people overall to receive more quality roles in Hollywood, his controversial comments could also be applied when it comes to the entertainment industry's equally troubling history of "colorism" and shying away from physical features considered "too ethnic"--especially when it comes to Black women.  Between actors, singers, models, "video vixens", news anchorwomen and TV personalities, there are very few women of darker complexions with prominently "Black" physical features who are given as many opportunities to shine on the biggest stages as women of "fairer" hues.  (See the long-standing debate about how Alicia Keys received more frequent promotion and airtime than India Arie when they both dropped debut albums in 2001 as Exhibit A.  Let me tell it, Arie had the better debut, but I digress.)  Even deeper than skin tone, women who traditionally wear their hair in Afros, dreadlocks, twists, braids and the like are coded as having "kinky" hair or possessing more of an "ethnic" or "urban" style; meanwhile, women who wear weave, get their hair relaxed or wear any hairstyle typically associated with European culture are quicker to be put in front of a camera on a widespread level--usually to no fault of their own.

With that said, this series of questions must be asked: so you mean to tell me that y'all couldn't find any darker-skinned women with more prominent features closer to Simone's to play this role?  Like, not one?   In an article last week featured on The Root, eleven other Black actors were listed who could've replaced Blige instead of Saldana without the need for darker makeup--a list that included Lupita Nyong'o, Viola Davis and the aforementioned India Arie.  Even comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Leslie Jones has a side-by-side pictorial comparison floating around social media manifesting the strong resemblance that she bears to Simone.  However, along with India Arie, a potential replacement who jumps off of the page for me is Uzo Aduba--the Emmy-award winning actor who takes no days off playing Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in the Netflix original series, Orange Is the New Black.  Not only does Aduba look the most like Simone out of everyone, but she is also a classically-trained singer who earned her keeps and sharpened her skills on Broadway.  Her classical background is especially interesting because Simone often said that she didn't sing "jazz"--a term that she asserted was invented by White people--but that she actually sang "Black classical music".  Thus, this seems like a role that could've been perfect for Aduba to propel her career and cement her reputation even more.

Now I kinda understand the movie business inasmuch as when you have one actor drop out of a role for whatever reason, you may feel more compelled to hire someone of reputation than an unproven actor.  However, I find it curious that casting director Jennifer Euston and creator Jenji Kohan--two White women--were more willing to take a chance on casting Aduba, who happened to be wearing the same twists in her hair that she wears on Orange Is the New Black during the casting call, than the director, casting directors or producers for Nina--who are all White except for executive producers David Oyewolo and Aigerim Jakisheva--were willing to do for her or anyone who looked like her.  In all fairness, none of us have any idea whether or not Aduba or any of the aforementioned women even auditioned for the role.  However, as Arie suggested, the casting of Saldana still seems to be "tone-deaf".  Arie further captures the overarching sentiment of those who wanted Hollywood to do better with this casting:

If I was going to pick someone I know, I would choose Adepero Oduye [of The Big Short] because of her acting chops and her facial features.  But also, wouldn't it be cool if somebody just came out of nowhere, like a stage actress or how Lupita Nyong'o just came out of nowhere?  Somebody who's amazing and ethnic and really beautiful and had chops, and then she did this movie and had the chance to elevate her craft the way that Nina Simone did?  That to me would capture her essence.  To see someone else have that opportunity because she paved that road, that to me would be inspirational.

Hence, whether it's Aduba, Arie, Davis, Nyong'o, Oduye (who was one of the eleven actors mentioned in The Root's article) or someone else, the point is that other Black women were out there.  Casting directors, film directors and executive producers in Hollywood have to start taking more of their cues from the NBA or the NFL by actively recruiting their stars instead of waiting for them to fall into their laps.  Taking that type of chance would have served greatly in breaking the cycle of Hollywood echoing the long-standing sentiment of the most hateful section of American culture: telling certain Black women that "you're too Black" or "your Black is not beautiful".

ONLY PEOPLE WHO ENJOY WATCHING TRAIN WRECKS WILL SPEND THEIR HARD-EARNED MONEY AT THE MOVIE THEATER.  Last year, Simone's only child, Lisa Simone Kelly, heralded the work accomplished in the Oscar-nominated documentary, What Happened, Nina Simone?  Simone Kelly said this about the film: "It reboots everything to what it's supposed to be in terms of mom's journey and mom's life the way she deserves and the way she wants to be remembered in her own voice on her own terms."  However, the Simone estate has not been as supportive of the Nina biopic; in fact, they have even gone so far as to encourage Simone's fans to hold listening parties for her music instead of supporting the film.  Upon the unveiling of the trailer, the estate sent out the following tweet: "Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful.  Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing."  Privy to an advanced screening of the film, India Arie said, "It made me sad.  The way she looked in the movie was ugly.  Whether or not Nina Simone was beautiful in your eyes, I thought she was beautiful.  But in this movie, she just looked weird."  Even Zoe Saldana took a bit of issue with the direction of the film in an interview with Latina magazine:

The people behind the project weren't my cup of tea.  The director was fine, but there was a lot of mismanagement, which is why we're still here three years later.  And I'm still trying to fight with everybody to get the movie finished.  Nina deserves better.

If the leading lady in your movie is questioning the people guiding the direction of the film, then there might be trouble in paradise.  Top that off with the Black community's social media outcry and overall denouncement of the trailer and you have a recipe for a lot of people planning to boycott the film for a plethora of reasons.

None of this, however, can prepare you for the debacle that is the trailer.  First and foremost, I personally know amateur cosmetologists who would've danced circles around this professional team of makeup artists--who were also (wait for it) all White; simply put, it just looks a hot mess.  Second, if this is a representation of who Nina Simone was supposed to be, then it paints her as nothing more than a weird-looking, deeply depressed, troubled, drunken and washed-up woman trying to pick up the pieces of her life.  Anyone who knows her real story understands that although she battled with demons like  everyone else, she has so many more layers than that.  Third, from an acting perspective, Zoe Saldana neither gives me a convincing Nina Simone nor excites me to see this film--which is disappointing for a woman who has been in such critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful films as Star Trek, Avatar, Star Trek Into Darkness and Guardians of the Galaxy.  Not saying that she can't act her way out of a paper bag, but maybe that's part of the problem: most of her best roles have been in superhero, action and sci-fi flicks.  Thus, asking her to play a woman with as much depth as Simone may have been too much of a reach even for Saldana because it does not appear to translate on-screen.  Bottom line, I don't plan on paying to see this movie and I can't imagine too many other people doing so--especially those of us in the Black community who clearly see Hollywood's writing on the wall.  Truth be told, I'd have a hard time wanting to watch it once I can actually view it through a streaming service.


At the end of the day, I just don't see how Nina succeeds.  Besides, it's only going to be a limited release, which means that only the major metropolitan markets will get a crack at seeing it.  It will also be available on the same date as the limited theatrical release via video on demand--which feels more like RLJ Entertainment is saying, "We'll say all of the right things and make it seem like Zoe is doing her thing, but we'll take these precautions just in case it's a certified brick."  The Simone family doesn't fool with it.  India Arie and other artists cut from the same cloth as Nina Simone aren't impressed.  Most people I know within the Black community have decided against financially supporting this movie.  Even Zoe Saldana doesn't sound like she can say with all certainty that this is among her best work.  It just feels like somebody stole all of the soul out of the story about one of the most soulful human beings and "artivists" and that is the biggest travesty of all.  You're right, Zoe...Nina does deserve better...much, much better.