In fact, India.Arie was my very first choice to play Nina because she actually has the singing skills to go with the looks. She also has the cultural/racial awareness to go along with that.

Zoe Saldana keeps trying to play these serious and heavy roles, and she keeps getting roles she's simply not capable of playing, based solely on her light skinned prettiness, which Hollywood insists on rewarding. Zoe is simply not that good of an actress for the dramatic roles she keeps getting.

I'm contrasting her acting skills with another light skinned actress Hollywood loves, Halle Berry, who is certainly more talented than she is.