Britney Spears checks in at the Marbella on Monday night’s
“Jane the Virgin.”
The pop superstar will play a heightened version of herself
on The CW comedy, and she will come face-to-face with the man who considers her
his nemesis – Jane’s (Gina Rodriguez) dad Rogelio (Jaime Camil).
Having Britney come on set for a guest spot was “a
pretty major moment for us,” Executive Producer Jennie Synder Urman told
Access Hollywood in a new interview. Exactly why Rogelio considers
“JTV’s” version of Britney to be so “Toxic” will be
revealed in the episode, but the show boss shared scoop about the early days of
the Britney/Rogelio friendship, its connection to a certain red jumpsuit, and
the entourage set to accompany the fictional Britney at the Marbella. She also
dished on how the superstar cameo came about.
AccessHollywood.com: Whose idea was a Britney Spears
cameo on ‘Jane the Virgin’?
Jennie Synder Urman: Rogelio had talked about his Vegas residency last year
and how it was kind of like Britney Spears, but his [was]
only one night. … In his mind, he was as famous as her and she was his pace
horse, but it was kind of like an internal writer room joke. And we read that
she liked the show, and we thought, ‘Oh, wow, maybe it could actually be on
screen as well.’ So that’s sort of where it came [from]. I read that she liked
it literally as I was editing that line in the editing room about him talking
about how his Vegas residency was like Britney Spears, and it sort of felt like
it was all kind of coming together — if we could get her, it would be super
fun.
Access: When you guys got her involved, did she get to
have any input in the part that she plays?
Jennie: We pitched her the part, and that it wouldn’t be her, but that it
would be a heightened version of her — you know, a sort of ‘Jane the Virgin’
version of Britney, which is what we did with Paulina Rubio — that it’s them,
but not really them. … Luckily, she liked the material and liked the story line
and so it was a really easy and fun collaboration.
READ: Jaime Camil: Cast ‘Super Excited’ For Britney Spears’ ‘Jane The Virgin’ Guest Spot
Access: Did she have any requests like, ‘I really [want to] have with a scene with Gina,’ or–
Jennie: No, but when I pitched the story line, I said it was going to be
with Gina — that the story was with Jane and Rogelio. Definitely our actors
all had requests, about wanting to be in scenes with her (laughs).
Access: What was Britney interested in when she came to
set? I’ve been on your set and it’s magnificent. I imagine that she probably
really enjoyed it as well.
Jennie: Yes, same thing that you’re taking it all in. And she is also there
working, so she’s coming in and she’s getting costume fittings and she’s
learning choreography that she’s going to be doing later that day and she’s
going from hair, to make up. … It’s a busy, busy, busy day. But she was just
awesome, game for everything, really fun. She and Gina obviously got along
great right away. It was fun. I’m a little bit shy, so I more observed from the
back.
Access: [What was it like when Jaime and Britney first
worked together’?] Was it a table read or rehearsal? How electric was it?
Jennie: You do the rehearsal and it was just fun right away. It was fun
with both of them, and I felt like she knew the energy of the show, so that she
knew what she was coming to and that Rogelio’s a heightened character and that
she was [playing one] as well. And she has her entourage in this [episode] that
come with their own sound effects and that sort of walk/dance as they follow
her. And she was into all of that and it was just fun right from the beginning.
Access: As we can see in a recently
released promo, [Rogelio and Britney’s original connection happened] over an
outfit. Who came up with that idea that it would be over the ‘Oops I Did It
Again’ pleather, is it, outfit?
Jennie: That’s how their friendship started. He said they went to an award
show. They were in the same look. He went home and changed, allowed her to
debut it in a music video and that’s how they became friends. And you, of
course, flash and see him in his red leather outfit. And so it seems like their
friendship was going really well for a while and then, there was a falling out.
Rogelio is convinced it was because he was emerging from Britney’s shadow —
becoming as famous as her– and Britney doesn’t buy it.
https://youtu.be/IHs77a6OIWA?list=PL6abPzY300GUgnr0Rdn3ED6geN4iAkf67
Access: How bad is the feud going to get between them,
because Rogelio – he doesn’t process things like a normal, rational human
being.
Jennie: (laughs) He doesn’t! He goes from 0-100 and, you know, it’s a feud
and it needs to be unpacked and of course, Rogelio takes it to the Internet, as
he takes most of his life’s moments, and he’s got his Rogeliofans, who maybe
aren’t as numerous as Britney’s army, but he believes they are passionate,
maybe more passionate, and he calls them to arms.
Access: What were some of the things that got thrown out
of the writer’s room, like, ‘That’s too outrageous to do,’… in the
Britney/Rogelio feud story line?
Jennie: Well, we had a final culminating scene in the mountains of Chichen
Itza that we couldn’t get to for various production reasons… that that used to
be their place where they would hang out and sort of just talk — in Chichen
Itza — and that had to go by the wayside sadly. Maybe we’ll see it in a
flashback at some point. That would be fun.
Access: Is there any chance she’ll come back?
Jennie: We had a great time with her. I hope she had a great time with us.
I know Gina and Jaime had such a great time with her. It would be amazing. She
was great. She was so fun. She was game for anything. It was such an amazing
moment for us and for the show and I think for the story too.
Britney Spears guest stars on Monday’s “Jane the
Virgin,” airing at 9/8c on The CW.
— Jolie Lash
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