Nina

Nina (2016)

Singer. Activist. Survivor. Legend.

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.

Date of release
2016-04-22
TMDB
5.2 / 10 (93)
Runtime
1h 30m
Genres
Drama, Music
Director
Cynthia Mort

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

Nina is a 2016 American biographical film written and directed by Cynthia Mort. The film focuses on American musician and civil rights activist Nina Simone, portrayed by Zoe Saldaña. The film also stars David Oyelowo, Ella Thomas, and Mike Epps. It had a limited release beginning April 22, 2016, and through video on demand by RLJ Entertainment.

Production

In May 2010, it was announced Mary J. Blige and David Oyelowo had been cast in the film as Nina Simone, and Clifton Henderson respectively, with Cynthia Mort directing the film from a screenplay she had written, and production planned for September of that year. In August 2012, it was announced that Zoe Saldaña, who is Afro-Latina, had been cast in the film, replacing Blige as Simone, Blige having exited due to financial issues with the project.

In 2014, Mort had begun taking legal action after being cut out of the decision-making process, making her unhappy with the project she spent several years developing.

Production was originally scheduled to begin in September 2010 in France. Principal photography began on October 16, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. To more accurately portray Simone's likeness, light-skinned Afro-Latina Saldaña used dark makeup, nasal and dental prosthetics, and wigs when playing to role of Simone for the film.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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