‘Britney vs Spears’: Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr Hopes Britney Will Like the Film. But Adds She Doesn’t “Know What It’s Like to Be Her”
The much-talked-about Netflix documentary Britney vs Spears released its trailer recently. Scores of fans of the singer have been waiting for the documentary. It sheds light on the controversial conservatorship that the singer admittedly wants to get out of. The legal arrangement, which puts Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears as her conservator has long been the subject of a court battle as well.
In the light of the ongoing legal battle, Britney vs. Spears will reportedly reveal reports on the conservatorship that have so far remained undisclosed. The documentary director, Erin Lee Carr, in a recent interview with LA Times, spoke about the documentary. She revealed the purpose of pursuing a topic as sensitive as Britney Spears.
Erin Lee Carr makes films about women
A popular documentarian, Lee Carr’s previous works highlight complicated stories of women at the intersection with the justice system. Her films include Mommy Dead and Dearest, I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth Vs. Michelle Carter.
“As a filmmaker who makes films about women, Britney Spears is one of the big stories,” Lee Carr said. “She’s an icon and a celebrated person but ended up somehow having the same legal rights as a minor.”
The mystery behind the entire arrangement intrigued Lee Carr. When she first decided to do some digging, sources refused to speak with her. Struck by the silence around the conservatorship, Lee Carr said she panicked.
“People think that everybody in Britney’s life is trying to get their five minutes in the sun, and it just couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Lee Carr said.
She knew without information from close sources, the Netflix documentary wouldn’t be possible. Especially since Spears had not opened up about the conservatorship at the time.
Lee Carr attempted to contact Spears several times
Since the film focused on Spears, it was essential for Lee Carr to, at least, try contacting Spears. And she did that.
“I always hoped and dreamed and wished and prayed to the documentary gods. I tried to contact her repeatedly,” Lee Carr said. “But I had to sit with the understanding that it was unlikely ever to happen.”
Earlier this year Framing Britney Spears an FX and Hulu documentary detailed the media’s treatment of Spears over the years came out. The singer had taken to Instagram to express how embarrassed she felt watching the film.
Even as Britney vs Spears investigates the conservatorship in its entirety, Lee Carr ensured that the film was not impacted by any bias, be it her own. She brought Amy Herdy, an investigative journalist to fact-check the film.
In the end, Lee Carr wants Spears to like ‘Britney vs Spears’
But she also knows that she can’t speak for Spears. “I don’t know what it’s like to be her,” Lee Carr said.
The filmmaker had decided that she would not use the same imagery that Spears herself had identified as traumatizing after the release of Framing Britney Spears. On the other hand, she still wanted to find out what was happening in the conservatorship.
“In making the film, I was trying not to be another person to trespass on her privacy again and again. But she[Spears] wants to get out of the conservatorship, so, therefore, we should know what is going on inside it,” Lee Carr said.
To inform Spears of the movie, Lee Carr sent Spears a letter as well. “I have reason to believe that she was able to read it,” Carr said. “I think she’s focusing on her new beau.”
Britney vs Spears comes to Netflix on Sep. 28.
