Producers of the upcoming biopic on legendary singer Nina Simone have made some interesting decisions in casting the film, and now their top choice for the film’s score is also raising some eyebrows.
In an interview with director Cynthia Mort and producer Gene Kirkwood they revealed that they are courting N.W.A legend 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 have maybe taken inspiration by the stellar for the score of Baz Luhmann’s Gatsby, which featured a soundtrack by Jay-Z. The Roc Nation boss is also said to be writing music for the upcoming film adaptation of Annie, which he is also producing.
Mort and Kirkwood also discussed several other aspects of the biopic, including defending their decision to cast Zoe Saldana as Simone.
While some are calling this choice into consideration, Mort and Kirkwood had no reservations calling Saldana a “courageous and super-talented” actress. Mort though has hit back with “To judge and to hijack a creative endeavour before its finished is the only thing I take any issue with.”
Nina, currently in post-production, is scheduled for release later this year
