Zoe Saldana to star in Nina Simone biopic, arguments over whether she should star in a Nina Simone biopic

With Mary J. Blige having abandoned her nearly decade-long plans to play Nina Simone to focus on crafting odes to chicken wraps, the long-gestating project from writer-director Cynthia Mort has moved on, casting Zoe Saldana in the biopic's lead role. Now that Saldana has joined The Help's David Oyelowo, who will play Simone's manager, production is expected to begin this October on the story of Simone's rise to fame as the "High Priestess of Soul," her deep involvement in the civil rights movement, and her eventual self-imposed exile from a country she never felt comfortable in. Outrage over how Zoe Saldana looks nothing like Nina Simone and why her casting is an insult to everything Simone stood for, meanwhile, is expected to begin immediately. Well, at least they've definitely got everyone's attention now.