Nina Simone Biopic Courting Musical Score by Dr. Dre
Producers of the upcoming biopic on Nina Simone have made some controversial decisions in casting the film, and now their top choice for the film's score is also raising some eyebrows.
In an interview with theGrio, director Cynthia Mort and producer Gene Kirkwood revealed that they are courting Dr. Dre to compose the musical score for Nina. "If we can get Dr. Dre involved, it could be very modern arrangements," says Kirkwood. "He’s going to see a rough cut in about a week and a half. I would love for him to do what Quincy [Jones] did with In the Heat of the Night and...with In Cold Blood. Quincy did a lot of scoring. I would love if Dre’s next step would be to score it. That would be a great challenge."
The filmmakers were perhaps inspired by Baz Luhrmann's decision to collaborate with Jay-Z for the score of Gatsby. The Roc Nation boss is also said to be writing music for the upcoming film adaptation of Annie, which ihe is also producing.
Mort and Kirkwood also discussed several other aspects of the biopic in the lengthy interview, including defending their decision to cast Zoe Saldana as Simone. Calling Saldana a "courageous and super-talented" actress, Mort says the film is "a creative endeavor, and to judge and to hijack a creative endeavor before it’s finished is the only thing I take any issue with.” She adds, ”when it’s done you can say whatever you want."
Other topics touched upon in the interview include Simone's bipolar disorder and the love in her life, who was a gay man.
Nina, currently in post-production, is scheduled for release later this year.
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