C’mon man (Chris Berman voice)! You know the feeling you got as a child on Christmas morning when the bike “you thought” your mother had been hinting at all year was not under the tree. Yeah, that’s how I feel about this casting. And I am not going to discuss the obvious skin color issue, because if you can make Forest Whitaker look like Idi Amin then anything is possible. I am more upset about the snubbing of more qualified actresses, e.g., Kerry Washington, Viola Davis (obvi!), Regina King, Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Hudson, Hattie McDaniel. The talent pool was so deep! How did Neytiri from Avatar float to the surface? This super snub begs the proverbial question, WHY? Look, don’t get me wrong, Zoe Saldana is a beautiful, talented, up and coming actress, but does she have the chops to dive in and out of the sometimes very dark abyss that was Nina Simone’s life? I believe this biopic needs a seasoned lead because that’s what Nina deserves. This role should serve as an honorary acting degree from the University of Hollywood’s Hall of Fame. But unfortunately, Zoe is still taking prerequesite courses and putting on her Freshman fifteen (of which she is gonna need all of for this role).  Hollywood baffles me once again with their decision making, but you have to respect their fearlessness.  However, my warning to my fellow filmies, and I am going to quote Geena Davis from The Fly (1986) on this one.  “Be afraid.  Be very afraid.”