Britney Spears: ‘Crossroads’ Set Secrets Unveiled, ‘Crossroads 2’ Not ‘Off The Table’

The 2002 big screen acting debut for Britney Spears, Crossroads, was a film that was after every teenage girls’ heart and inspired those ready to take the leap from high school senior to dream chaser, to do just that. The film starred Spears as the gorgeous brainiac looking to get her big break in music, along with two best buds, played by Taryn Manning and Zoe Saldana. Lucy (Spears) reunites with her high school buds to take a road trip and gain inspiration during the “not a girl, not yet a woman” time and transition in her life.

E! shares as to other big names who co-starred and had a hand in the cute flick.

“The comedy, co-starring Dan Aykroyd, Kim Cattrall, Justin Long, and Anson Mount, earned $61.1 million on a $10 million budget. Crossroads also gave Shonda Rhimes her first major screenwriting credit.”

Seven facts that, until now, were unknown, include the fact that Spears was already signed on for a project with MTV that would have involved a musical remake of Alice in Wonderland and starred Brit along with her then-boyfriend, singer Justin Timberlake. E! shares the details about the intended film.

“Davis was attached to direct Crossroads, Carli and Jive Records brought it to MTV Films executive David Gale, who later signed on as the film’s executive producer. Gale’s team had already been working on a musical update of Alice in Wonderland that would both star Spears and feature other hot pop acts, including’N Sync (and her then-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake).”

Another commendable fact about the movie’s writer involves Rimes’ desire to display a different side of Spears, as opposed to portraying her as the symbol and pop star the world knew her as at the time. She wanted to show the real side of Britney.

“I was much more interested in the young woman that I met than the image that people had of her. She was a person, and I don’t think anyone at the time was looking at her—because it’s such a misogynistic society—as a person. The idea that we could portray her as a three-dimensional young woman was interesting to me. To have mean-girled her and turned her into a caricature would have been a mistake.”

Another detail that demonstrates Rimes’ admiration for Spears and the Crossroads crew is the fact that the writer admits to having a signed Crossroads poster hanging in her office.

Interestingly enough, it was Robert DeNiro who convinced Anson Mount who plays Lucy’s love interest in the movie, to join the cast. Initially Mount was reluctant to sign on for the part. DeNiro was such a huge fan of Spears that he convinced Mount, whom he co-starred with in City by the Sea, to take the role. The notable actor even ran lines with Mount prior to scenes on set.

Although many pop icons get the reputation of being a diva. director Tamra Davis says that Spears was the furthest from being a diva and was just a down-to-earth girl’s girl type. Her requests for food were never extreme, and comprised mainly of “tuna, Lunchables and edamame.”

Of course, due to the film being shot while Brit was still enjoying her very public romance to then N’Sync member Justin Timberlake, the now-solo-artist was a regular “fixture” on set. Davis even detailed the couple’s “beautiful romance” recently, as Entertainment Tonight shared.

Lastly, for those who were won over by the film back in 2002, and were left wondering as to whether sequel is in the cards, rest assured that Crossroads 2 is “not off the table.”

Producer of the film, Ann Carli, shares about the possibility of a sequel.

“We’ve actually talked a little bit, in a weird way, about a sequel. There’s a lot of people [involved], and they’re really busy. Who knows? I think it would be a lot of fun, but everybody’s in different places, from Taryn to Zoe to Britney to Shonda. I don’t know what Crossroads 2 would be! Would I work with that group of people again? Absolutely!”

[Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images]