Nina is an upcoming biographical film written and directed by Cynthia Mort. The film focuses on American musician and civil rights activist Nina Simone The film also stars David Oyelowo, Ella Thomas, and Mike Epps.

In 2010, it was announced Mary J. Blige had been cast in the film but Blige exited due to financial issues with the project. In 2012, it was announced that Zoe Saldana had been cast in the film, replacing Blige as Simone. After the films trailer had been released, Simone's estate's Twitter account tweeted Saldana writing "“Please take Nina’s name out of your mouth. For the rest of your life,", "“Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful. Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing. It shall pass, but for now…”

Robert L. Johnson, the chairman and founder of RLJ gave a statement saying : "Zoe Saldana delivers an exceptional and mesmerizing tribute to Nina Simone, She gave her heart and soul to the role and displayed her extraordinary talent, the most important thing is that creativity or quality of performance should never be judged on the basis of color, or ethnicity, or physical likeness. Quality entertainment should be measured by the sheer force of creativity and the commitment that an actor or actress brings to the performance."

The film is scheduled to be released on April 22.

Tags: zoe saldana David Oyelowo Ella Thomas Mike Epps Mary J. Blige Nina Simone Robert L. Johnson Movies