Spencer Director Pablo Larrain Doesn't Think He's The Right Person To Make A Britney Spears Movie [Exclusive]
Pablo Larraín's "Spencer" begins with the title card, "A fable from a true tragedy." As those who watched his 2016 Jacqueline Kennedy film "Jackie" know, Larraín knows exactly how to transform what could've been a stodgy, dull biopic into a quietly meditative — but incredibly compelling — story that humanizes larger-than-life figures and uncovers new layers that far too many of us may have neglected to consider with their real-life counterparts. In "Spencer," Kristen Stewart's Princess Diana is subjected to a seemingly never-ending holiday weekend with her family at a crucial crossroads. Rather than detailing the full extent of her too-short life, however, Larraín distills much of her troubles (both private and in the public eye) into this brief and fictionalized few days. The result of this bold and deceptively layered approach, to put it frankly, speaks for itself.
/Film's Hoai-Tran Bui spoke with the acclaimed filmmaker and asked the question on everyone's mind: whether he'd be interested in completing this "trilogy" of sorts focused on famous women in history who have experienced immense amounts of pain and tragedy. And if that trilogy would be capped with a movie about Britney Spears.
Pablo Larraín's Next Step
As someone with a one-track mind, I fully relate to filmmakers who obviously have one overarching idea in mind every time they set out to direct a new script. Christopher Nolan is obsessed with time, Guillermo del Toro can't stop himself from thinking about monsters, Greta Gerwig has quickly cornered the market of young women struggling to find their place in the world, and Pablo Larraín continues to be interested in exploring the most relatable and deeply connective traits behind otherwise privileged public figures. After accruing this very particular body of work with "Jackie" and now "Spencer," /Film naturally had to ask him about his plans for his next film. According to Larraín:
"It's possible. It's possible. I'm not sure yet... I've been busy this day. So I don't know, but it might happen. It's not something that I am specifically thinking right now, but we are discussing and reading and just thinking. Let's see."
Should he decide to continue traveling through this niche of his, there's certainly no shortage of individuals that he could focus on for his next outing. Given how much she's been in the news lately and her presence as a lightning rod in pop culture, naturally we suggested none other than Britney Spears as a potential topic. Larraín's response is amusing to the extreme, with him pointing out that she would pose a rather unique challenge compared to his previous films:
"You want me to do a movie with Britney Spears? Yes. But it would be like a documentary, she's alive... How do you do that? You have an actress playing her, or it would be her playing her?"
Upon being informed that she would probably have to be portrayed by an actual actress, Larraín meekly waves the white flag and admits:
"Yeah, I don't think I'm the person to [do] that movie, I think."
Honestly, we have to respect a director that knows his own limits! "Spencer" is currently playing in theaters.