Production
In early 2001, Spears said that she had plans to make her film debut. She and her team then created a concept for it, which was later developed by Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rimes. Spears commented that she "talked to and told her what I wanted the movie to be about and she elaborated on it. It was my little project. When you do a movie, I think you have to be really passionate about it. I was having a lot of offers, but this is something my heart was into." A press conference was held during the Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale (MIDEM) in Cannes, France, on January 19, 2002, where Spears also premiered the film.
Filming for Crossroads initiated in March 2001 in Baton Rouge and Hammond, Louisiana, near Spears' hometown. Due to the fact that Spears was also recording her third studio album along with the film's production, filming only wrapped up after six months. Additional scenes were filmed in Los Angeles, California. Crossroads had a total budget of $10 million; a relatively low budget by industry standards. According to the Louisiana Film and Video Commission, the film was originally titled What Friends are For. Spears described it as a teen movie that deals with real issues that normal teenagers live on a daily basis. She continued to explain the film's content, saying that it "is about this journey that the three of us best friends take, finding ourselves and what we want out of life and getting our friendship back. Friends are all you have at the end of the day. When your boyfriend breaks up with you, who do you call? Your girlfriend. I just love that message."
Justin Long, who plays one of Lucy's best friends from high school, thought that Crossroads is "like a road trip buddy movie for girls." Long also said that he was impressed by Spears' work ethic, commenting that "she could not have been more down to earth. She's the sweetest girl. After 10 minutes, I forgot she was a big pop star." Anson Mount, who plays Ben, revealed that actor Robert De Niro ran a few of Spears' lines with him while rehearsing for the film. Mount revealed that De Niro called the singer "a sweet girl" and convinced him to do Crossroads.
Read more about this topic: Crossroads (2002 film)
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