These are some Twitter reactions to Zoe playing Nina:
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alirioaguero2 — 9 years ago(July 18, 2016 04:46 PM)
Lighter has always been better for Black and Asian actors, especially females. Interestingly, it has often been reversed for White actors, especially males. Being Caucasian is a plus on the screen, but often being too pale is not something that is encouraged. Maybe females can get a 'pass' most of the time, but when a male actor (often blond or redhead) is very light, he is bullied for being 'pasty' and often advised to 'get a tan'. So, colorism, racism and sexism exist in every culture and subculture in the world. Doesn't justify any of that, though.
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tiger86-2 — 10 years ago(March 08, 2016 12:12 PM)
We had Morgan Freeman playing a redheaded Irishman. We had Laurence Fishbourne playing a white journalist. We had a black actress playing Hermione on stage. The Rock played Hercules.
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tiger86-2 — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 04:43 AM)
All of the characters I mentioned are.
That doesn't change the fact that their race was changed for the movies.
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neelay123 — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 06:10 AM)
While I do think we need more redheads in hollywood movies perhaps race and complexion didn't play an integral part the the characters Morgan and Laurence played. And JK Rowling herself has implied that Hermione race is ambiguous.
As I mentioned before Nina being a dark skinned african american woman with a broader nose and fuller lips played a big part of her life. -
alirioaguero2 — 9 years ago(July 18, 2016 04:58 PM)
Actually that happened multiple times and I am fine with that.
Candice Patton, who is black, is playing Iris West, comic-book character who is white in the source material. She is the female lead in The Flash, and she is awesome in it.
Black Latina Zabryna Guevara played Sarah Essen on Gotham. The character is a blonde white woman in the comics.
Ruth Negga, a black woman, is playing female lead Tulip in tv's Preacher, who is, again, white in the original source material.
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PeggyFromMannix — 10 years ago(March 05, 2016 06:31 AM)
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neelay123 — 10 years ago(March 08, 2016 04:21 PM)
There are two sides to a story. On one hand you could say that this is just movie and people are overreacting. And on the other you could say that casting a light skinned mixed race actress is a slap in the face to what Nina's image stood for.
Yes it's all about the money BUT as someone has validly pointed out before. You do not always need a big name. If the name is big people will see it. Chris Prat wasn't a big name before GOTG. And if lb68ike Harry Potter you can get big names to surround your film you can also help.
Have you looked into the history of hollywood and types of roles offered to black actresses that looked like Nina Simone compared to those that looked like Lena Horn or Dorothy Dandridge? Dark skinned women were not aloud to be seen as the beautiful love interest until the 70's. Before that they were relegated to maids and mammies.
It's all well and good to say it's over the top and it's PC rubbish but you need to realise that when Nina Came along she represented a type of black female beauty that was not promoted in western media and it challenged people's perceptions of black beauty. A similar thing is happening with Lupita Nyong'o at the moment. Of course light skinned black women have struggled in hollywood too I am not denying that but it is a different kind of struggle.
White actors did not go through the same shade issues so there really is no comparison. Will Smith doesn't look like Dr. Bennet Omalu, Angela Basset didn't look like Tina Turna and Denzel is darker than Malcolm X yet none of those actors needed to alter their complexions. They sold it through acting.
When I Lupita Nyong'o and Teyonah Parris star in Audrey Hepburn and Amy Whinehouse Biopics then we can say it's just acting. -
tiger86-2 — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 04:53 AM)
A similar thing is happening with Lupita Nyong'o at the moment.
What exactly is happening with Lupita Nyong'o?
Just a few years ago she was a NOBODY, her biggest role was a supporting character in six episodes of an MTV show, and all of a sudden she is given major roles on a silver platter.
How many white actors with her resume would be given the chance she had with '12 Years a Slave'?
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Sweet_and_Lowdown77 — 10 years ago(March 13, 2016 09:35 AM)
Comparing Chris Pratt casting in GOTG to Zoe in NINA is apples to oranges.
NINA is a $7 million indpendant film. This film did NOT have studio financing and no guarantee of a wide theatrical release. Independent Producers usually - usually - need a star as the lead in order to raise the budget of the film.
GOTG was a $200M marvel film. It not only had the Marvel brand but was guaranteed 5000+ screens of theatrical release through Disney.
A closer comparison to make is how Chadwick Bosman (a relative unknown) got the lead of 42 as Jackie Robinson. Even that isn't the same since that WAS studio film, made about the 1st ever Black player in MLB. It was also written & directed by an Academy Award winner and had Harrison Ford as the #2 star.
So while 42 got to cast an unknown for the role, the studio still insisted on a major star in the #2 role.
Also, and this is with all due respect, Nina Simone is NOT as popular or well known as Jackie Robinson. That film also had a release date that coincided with the opening of baseball season AND was released on the 50th anniversary of Jackie being called up to his 1st game.
So, yes, 42 cast an "unknown" but all those other factors allowed them to do tha1c84t.
People have a right to be upset. But most of the people don't realize how hard it is to make a film. Surely it wasn't the producers 1st choice to make the film low budget without a studio. I'm sure they shopped their script to every studio first and they all passed. So the choice was make the film independently with Zoe as the star or don't make it.
Some wished they hadn't, but they did. To those who are hating on the film Raise $$ yourself on kickstarter and make your own Nina Simone film with a perfect look a like. It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one.