Zoe Saldana has been coming under fire for being chosen as the lead in the bio-pic about the life of troubled jazz legend, Nina Simone.  The African-American community has been in somewhat of an uproar over the selection because Zoe, who is a fair skinned Dominican, looks absolutely nothing like Nina.  Saldana also has no musical talent.  It is unfortunate that this questionable choice may affect the success of the film.

You can click on the link to see a photo of Zoe in a facial prosthetic and dark make-up.  She still looks nothing like Simone.  The situation begs the question, why wasn't there more of an effort to make a better casting choice.  Just off the top of my head neo-soul singer India Arie comes to mind.  I am not sure what kind of an actress she would be, but she has the look and musical chops.  Time will tell if this was a lot of noise about nothing, or a self-fulfilled prophecy about the outcome of the project.