FX’s documentary Framing Britney Spears has found a great deal of success in examining the troubled pop star’s private life, and the rumors surrounding her relationship with her father. While making the documentary, showrunner Mary Robertson, senior story editor Liz Day, and director Samantha Stark were faced not with a lack of relevant data, but rather too much of it. So much so that Day told THR that there is enough material left over for a sequel documentary.
“There was so much we had to leave on the cutting room floor and in our notebooks just for time. And also since the documentary aired, we’ve gotten a lot of information that we’re interested in as well that we’re interested in pursuing and reporting out further.”
Framing Brtiney Spears charts the rise of the pop sensation since her days at the top of the music charts, to the overwhelming public scrutiny that eventually derailed her career. The biggest talking point since the release of the documentary is the reignited debate over the role of Britney’s father Jamie Spears in his daughter’s life, and his apparently complete control over her financial assets.
The controversy has brought fresh life to the #FreeBritney campaign that seeks to separate the pop icon from her father’s control. According to Stark, a fresh documentary would be required to wade into the complexities of Spears’ unique legal conservatorship that places her personal affairs under her father’s care.
“There’s way more to learn about the circumstances of the conservatorship and how the conservatorship has been running and why, the people involved in its creation and running it. Right now, Jamie Spears is the face of this because he’s the person that was named in the court filings that were filed by Britney’s court-appointed attorney. But it’s clear that he’s not the only person who was working on this and that he’s not the only person that has benefited monetarily from this, so I think it’s important to look into everything. And of course it will be very important to keep following the court hearings as they keep happening.”
Interestingly, Britney Spears herself does not appear in the documentary. Instead, the people behind the project formulated a spreadsheet of around 1,000 people to contact, watched hours of paparazzi footage, and attempted to spotlight the women involved in Britney’s career. For her part, Spears has kept mum about the findings of the documentary, save a cryptic message posted on Instagram which states, “each person has their story and their take on other people’s stories,” which fans believe could be a reference to the documentary.
It will be interesting to see whether a follow-up to Framing Britney Spears if it does get made, will feature the pop star herself personally shedding light on the troubling aspects of her relationship with her father. Directed by Samantha Stark and produced by Jason Stallman, Sam Dolnick, and Stephanie Priess, Framing Britney Spears} stars Britney Spears through archival footage, Dave Holmes, Wesley Morris, and Felicia Culotta. The documentary premiered on Feb. 5 on FX and is streaming on Hulu. This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter.