Rebel Wilson has revealed Britney Spears herself approved the idea of Rebel recreating the ‘You Drive Me (Crazy)’ music video in her upcoming Netflix movie. This is why the entire set was recreated and pays homage to Britney according to Rebel in a recent interview.
— ‘Senior Year’ premieres May 13th on Netflix!
Full interview
Rebel Wilson got Britney Spears' OK before using the singer's track in her upcoming flick. ET's Denny Directo spoke to the 42-year-old actress ahead of the release of Netflix's Senior Year, and she revealed what went into getting to recreate the music video for Spears' 1999 song, "(You Drive Me) Crazy" in her film.
"We had to get Britney's permission. I was really nervous [thinking], 'Oh my gosh, I hope she knows we're [paying] homage to her with this,'" Wilson told ET. "It was really awesome that she gave permission to do it... 'Crazy' was just such a cool song, such an iconic video clip... I just thought that would be really cool."
"We recreated that exact set," she added. "What was weird is I didn't really practice that much. When I shot it, I tried to just channel Britney and then immediately our director, Alex Hardcastle, was like, 'Oh my God, you were, like, so Britney.' In certain takes I really just believed I was her. It comes out really funny... That was our last day of shooting and it was like 110 degrees in Atlanta, but once they pump that Britney music I just wanted to give it my all."
"We had to get Britney's permission. I was really nervous [thinking], 'Oh my gosh, I hope she knows we're [paying] homage to her with this,'" Wilson told ET. "It was really awesome that she gave permission to do it... 'Crazy' was just such a cool song, such an iconic video clip... I just thought that would be really cool."
"We recreated that exact set," she added. "What was weird is I didn't really practice that much. When I shot it, I tried to just channel Britney and then immediately our director, Alex Hardcastle, was like, 'Oh my God, you were, like, so Britney.' In certain takes I really just believed I was her. It comes out really funny... That was our last day of shooting and it was like 110 degrees in Atlanta, but once they pump that Britney music I just wanted to give it my all."
Spears' song isn't the only hint of nostalgia in the film, in which Wilson stars as a high-school cheerleader who wakes up from a 20-year coma and wants to return to high school to reclaim her status and become the prom queen. Rather, Wilson told ET it was their "aim" to pack as much of the '90s and aughts in as possible.
"I just had the best time," Wilson said of making the flick. "The first time I put on those low rise jeans, the outfit that Britney Spears wears in the 'Crazy' video I was like, 'Oh, I didn't used to wear clothes like this.'"
"I really like this one hairstyle where I had all these little butterfly clips and I had put like glitter roll on all over me. I was really feeling myself in that outfit," she continued. "It was really fun to go back and also just listen to all that pop music from back then that's in the film."
As fun as it was to embrace the nostalgic fashions, Wilson's own high school style is not something she looks back on fondly.
"I had bangs, but they were not like normal bangs. They were only an inch long, super short fringe... I didn't really have any fashion sense. I really didn't. I went to an all girls school. We didn't really care what we looked like," Wilson said, before sharing what she'd change about her high school self if she could go back in time.
"I would probably learn something about makeup, like my character does makeup tutorials in the film. I would probably learn something about presenting myself nicely," she said. "... I look back at pictures of me [and am] like, 'What was I thinking?' I looked shocking."
Though hindsight makes Wilson want to change some things about her past self, she hopes Senior Year will encourage viewers to do the exact opposite.
"The message in the film that my character learns is, firstly, that high school doesn't define you, and also to be your real self, don't try to be somebody else to fit in," she said. "My character has a quote in the film, 'Why fit in when you're born to stand out?' I really, really like that."
"In Australia, sadly a lot of us are taught to just be normal and don't stand out in any way. I was someone who was different and wanted to go out into the world and crash it. I was different and unique and I had to learn to embrace that about myself," Wilson added. "I hope that the young people watching, they can get a really nice message."
