‘Framing Britney Spears’ filmmakers talk about their process

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how our journalism works.

The first week of the movie “Framing Britney Spears,” which is part of the TV documentary series “The New York Times Presents,” took a close look at Ms. Spears’ legal battle with her father, Jamie Spears, for control of her. finances. For more than a decade, much of that control was held by Mr Spears in a guardianship, a complex legal arrangement typically used for the sick or the elderly.

Since the film’s release on FX and Hulu, celebrities and fans have voiced their support for Ms Spears on social media. The final court hearing in the fight was scheduled for Thursday in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, director Samantha Stark and film editor Liz Day answered readers’ questions during an “Ask Me Anything” session on the Reddit site. The following extracts are edited.

Did you encounter any legal obstacles during the making of the film?

DAY LIZ We did not receive any direct legal threats during the making of the documentary. Reporting any investigative story requires extreme attention to factual accuracy and fairness, and this project was no different, although it was made even more difficult by an ongoing court case, attorney privilege. -client, medical confidentiality, celebrity nondisclosure agreements, mistrust of the press and other factors.

What is the involvement of Lynne Spears, Britney’s mother, in all of this?

SAMANTHA STARK So what we do know about Lynne Spears is that she is not legally part of Britney’s Guardianship Team. We know that she recently requested to be included in order to have access to more information and to be able to have her lawyer speak during the hearings, and that she has declared herself as an “interested party” to this end.

It is unclear what involvement Lynne had related to the Guardianship until recently. At a hearing on November 10, Lynne said, through her lawyer (and I’m paraphrasing), that she thanked Jamie for the job he had done but that she wanted Britney to wake up to see clearer days. It is very difficult to understand what role Jamie, Lynne or a number of others have played throughout the Guardianship as there are many court records sealed.

What is your opinion on the media response to the documentary? It feels like a lot of media outlets that disparaged Britney years ago are now thinking about how the media destroyed her.

RIGID There is one thing that I noticed last week while doing media interviews that I never even thought of before the film was released. When Britney was ashamed of her teenage sexuality and harassed as a young adult, the gatekeepers of all of that media – the shameful ones – were in their 30s, 40s, 50s. We teenagers have seen this happen. Now that my / our generation is a lot of keepers, we say “nothing more”.

How should these media react after playing a part in all the derision Britney has endured?

RIGID I think they should respond by never doing anything like that again. I think they should take note of Britney’s book and be kind, open, and non-judgmental.

Have you contacted any of Britney’s ex-husbands or boyfriends, like Jason Alexander, Kevin Federline, Jason Trawick or Charlie Ebersol, or some of her photographers / videographers, like David LaChappelle and Nigel Dick?

DAY Yes, at the end of the document we have listed the family members of Ms Spears that we requested on camera interviews with but either did not respond or declined. But we’ve reached out to a lot more people than this list, including the ex-husbands / boyfriends mentioned. We spoke with Nigel Dick and also contacted David LaChappelle. There were a lot of people we spoke with in the background who did not appear on camera. There were also a few people whose on-camera interviews we did not include due to the weather.

What do you think of Britney’s obsessive fans who question and dissect her social media posts?

RIGID There is such a tight circle around Ms. Spears, apparently allowed by the guardianship, that it’s really hard to ask her how she is or what she is thinking. We know she hasn’t been interviewed for a long time and that when she did for many years she was probably under very close surveillance. So I honestly think it makes sense for people to turn to her Instagram to try and analyze what she might be doing. This is the only place we have been able to see or hear her in quite some time.

Have you looked at the financial records? Forbes estimated his wealth at $ 60 million. Shouldn’t it be higher?

DAY Excellent question. Britney’s true net worth is a mystery, and there is speculation that there could be a lot more money beyond $ 60 million outside of her estate, in trusts or elsewhere in the form of royalties, intellectual property and more. There are many companies incorporated as private LLCs, whose records are rare. One thing I would add is that a lot of times when you hear big Hollywood paychecks, you have to consider everyone who is taking a cut – managers, lawyers, and government taxes, for example.

Did you think this movie would lead to a big resurgence of the #FreeBritney movement?

RIGID When I’m making a movie, I never know which parts of the play are going to hit people in the emotional gut. I really had no idea this would happen.