Mary J. Blige Led Nina Simone Biopic Delayed
Mary J. Blige’s booming film career is starting to spur conflict between separate projects. MSN reports that the singer’s work on the film Rock of Ages has forced producers to delay the start of her long awaited portrayal as jazz legend Nina Simone. However, the delay may only be to everyone’s benefit, allowing the Queen of Hip Hop Soul more preparation to play Simone.
Blige explained to MSN that she has a lot of video footage that she’s using to study Simone’s life. She added that she’s also spoken with several people who knew the singer. "I need to become whoever she was and dig in," Blige said.
Mary also noted, "I got to get a piano coach and a dialect coach to play her. Acting is something that I'm testing and it's working. I don't think I'm gonna become Meryl Streep... but I'm going to do the stuff that people believe in me for."
(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)