Crossroads Director Reacts To Britney Spears' Difficult Method Acting Experience: 'I'm Shocked'
The director responds to Britney Spears' comments about Crossroads.
Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me, is full of revelations and bombshells about her career and personal life. Recently, the singer made waves when she revealed she had an abortion during her relationship with Justin Timberlake, who was allegedly concerned about the book's release. Spears has also candidly spoken about growing up in the entertainment industry. Along those lines, another excerpt that’s gone viral is about her brief, but impactful, time working as an actor in the film Crossroads. Now, following the “Circus” singer’s explanation of the difficult experience she had with Method acting amid production, the director has responded.
What Britney Spears Wrote About Method Acting And Crossroads
In the excerpt of The Woman in Me that was released via People, the songstress opened up about the struggle of working on Crossroads. She made it clear that she had no issues with any of the film's cast and crew, but that the challenges came from her Method acting. She explained:
She went on to say that she found herself “walking differently, carrying myself differently, talking differently,” and noted that she felt like a totally different person while they made the movie. Near the end of the excerpt, the “Toxic” singer added:
Her challenging experience working on the 2002 road film is a major reason why she was happy she didn’t land a lead role in The Notebook. It's possible that it's also why she hasn’t acted – outside of a few cameos – since.
How The Director Of Crossroads Reacted To Britney Spears’ Comments
After Britney Spears' revelations about her on-set experience went viral, the director of Crossroads, Tamra Davis, shared some honest thoughts. The filmmaker said she was “shocked” by the story in the “brutally honest” memoir. However, she also explained that she knew how deep the “Oops!…I Did It Again” singer had to dig to play the character. She told Yahoo! Entertainment:
The CB4 helmer also stressed that it’s hard to tell how someone is feeling inside. When discussing the Grammy winner's comments from the book, the director reflected on how she worked with her lead star on the movie, saying:
In the movie, Britney Spears starred alongside Zoe Saldaña (who enjoyed working with her) and Taryn Manning, aas they played a group of high school friends who go on a road trip with a guy they meet shortly after graduating. Tamra Davis said she wanted to help the singer with her acting so that she could perform at the same level as full-time actors, like Saldaña and Manning:
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Even though Crossroads was a difficult experience for the legendary pop star, it sounds like there's no bad blood between her and her colleagues from the film. Tamra Davis even explained that she is “loosely” planning a reunion with the pop star. Also, their movie is actually set to return to theaters for a couple of days in October at the request of the singer herself
So, while Britney Spears won’t be appearing in any new projects on the 2023 movie schedule (as it sounds like her acting career is firmly behind her) Crossroads will. The film will play in theaters on October 23 and 25, right around the time the pop star’s book, The Woman in Me, hits bookshelves on October 24.
Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.