I just read that Queen Latifah and Paula Patton are putting controversy aside and waiting to see Zoe Saldana in the upcoming Nina Simone biopic before passing judgment about a lighter-skinned actress playing Simone, who was proud of her African heritage.
As a fan of Saldana, I too am looking forward to seeing her play the part. I believe in equal opportunity across the board, same goes for actors regardless of ethnicity. That epitomises what acting is all about, being able to convince the viewer of how believable they render their character.
Recently, Idris Elba faced a lot criticism after being considered as a future James Bond even though I see him transforming into a suave, urban 007 upgrade.
What about Annie? The Broadway musical turned 1982 film about a foster child was reinvented in 2014 with a modern vibe with Quvenzhané Wallis playing the title role of what used to be a freckled little white girl.
There’s talk about Saldana having to wear a prosthetic nose as Simone, but didn’t Meryl Streep have to wear a dental plate to be more like Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady?
Why didn’t anyone complain when Saldana was painted “green skinned” as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy or blue-hued alien Neytiri in the successful Avatar movie?
Even as Lt Uhura in the new Star Trek films she is clearly lighter in skin tone than original actress Nichelle Nichols without any complaints from the peanut gallery.
Janet Jackson’s skin was visibly darkened to suit the mood of her 2006 music video Got Til It’s Gone, but there wasn’t all that fuss about it back then. By now, we should have matured in our thinking, and be more objective about acting chops rather than physical stereotypes.
Let Zoe’s acting be the real gauge, not how light or dark she looks on camera. Sitting in a make-up chair goes with acting any part realistically.
Jimmy Flix