Dr. Dre has been tapped to provide the score for the forthcoming Nina Simone biopic directed by Cynthia Mort. Mort and executive producer Gene Kirkwood are reportedly in the midst of preliminary talks to secure Dr. Dre for the film. She has expressed her desire to see him to create a body of work that would do for the film what Quincy Jones‘ classic scores did for films in the 70s. Mort and Kirkwood detailed their thoughts during a recent interview with TheGrio:

“If we can get Dr. Dre involved, it could be very modern arrangements” that make up the score for Nina, Kirkwood said. “He’s going to see a rough cut in about a week and a half. I would love for him to do what Quincy did with In the Heat of the Night and [what] Quincy did 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.”

Nina – currently in post-production – would be Mort’s first feature-length film and is slated to star Zoe Saldana as the revolutionary singer; Saldana faced a barrage of scrutiny after filmmakers announced that she would portray Nina Simone. Mort stands by the choice to cast Saldana even as some fans remain staunchly opposed to the decision. Those who disagree with Mort’s choice cite Saldana’s lack of resemblance to the singer as their primary concern. The film is slated for release sometime later this year. [AlLindstrom]