My last post about Britney Spears was almost exactly two years ago. How far we've come since the days when I monitored and made fun of Britty's every move, ranting obsessively three and sometimes four times a week. Ah, those were the days. I moved on to hating and judging other people I'd never met while Britney quietly dried out in the corner, growing her hair back and spending romantic evenings with that guy that looks like a low-rent Jim Jarmusch. Then today, I catch wind of this video. It's a little behind-the-scenes crapumentary of Brit Brit's photo shoot for the latest Candie's campaign. First off: Candie's. What the hell is up with this company? All I really know about them is their suggestive and sometimes grody ad campaigns that always feature C-list celebs tarted up in their cheap-ass clothes and shoes. You may remember their most infamous ad which pictured mumps champion Jenny McCarthy sitting on a toilet with her undies around her ankles. (And, yes, that website that I linked to deemed that ad one of the sexiest celebrity ads of all time. Gross.)
Anyhoo, our little Brit Brit is one of Candie's heartiest endorsers. Who better to pitch sequined vests, tiered lace minis and leggings with zippers up the sides? OK, the cast of 90210, circa 1992 would be better, but Candie's went with Britney. Somehow Candie's got the budget to hire three of the world's most expensive photographers to custom-build sets and take pictures of Brit for their latest ad campaign. What happens when you combine three highly overrated artistes with another highly overrated pop princess? Let's take a peek:
I'm going to give you a minute to let that all sink in.
Now, let's pick this apart, piece by piece. We start off with a little welcome from Britney, who informs us that we are about to witness her Spring 2010 photoshoot for Candie's. Uh, Candie's...it's fall. So, fail #1.
Next we see a bunch of poor saps putting together sets, and some Candie's bitch bragging that "we have three genius, genius photographers shooting the biggest pop star in the world." So they dumped Britney and got Lady Gaga? No? Fail #2.
Then they show the photographers talking about the collaboration with Britney, only they don't identify them. Some crazy cat lady pistons her arms around and tells Britney, "I like your dance aspect, too." Who let that homeless woman onto the set? Security! Oh, wait a minute, that's just star photographer Annie Leibovitz. What a weirdo. I've read that she's a screetching psycho nutcase, so hopefully she'll lose her mind and kill everyone on the set. Fingers crossed!
Candie's bitch comes back on and says the photogs have decided "what to do with Britney" on their own, and then we see a Britney with a giant inflatable microphone and...A DONKEY. What the fuck. I've read that donkeys are temperamental, so hopefully the little burro will lose its mind and kick everyone on the set to death.
Next we see about 10 million unnecessary establishing shots of trucks filled with chairs driving around, lackeys opening doors and people pretending to work. The incredibly smug Candie's bitch starts blabbering about "raising the bar" for their seasonal photoshoot and at this rate, they'll be shooting the Winter 2010 campaign about this time next year. They then introduce the genius, genius artistes. Besides Annie, we also have Mark Seliger and, gross grossarooni Terry Richardson. You may have heard Terry's name in the news lately, as he's been accused of sexually assaulting several of his models. But you really only need to look at him to deduce that he's the King of the Creepers. He and Dov Charney should start some kind of douche colony. Anyway, I've read that Terry can be a bit of a loose cannon, so hopefully he'll lose his mind and kill everyone on the set, including himself.
We then get another 50 million ridiculous establishing shots and a guy saying, "I need the deepest pink touch-up paint." We see a cowboy-hatted guy that seems to be the keeper of the donkey, a giant teddy bear, roller skates and a director's chair that says "King Kong" on it. I don't even know what to say. It's just so bizarre. And stupid.
After another gazillion establishing shots, we get to see the epic first-time meeting of Britney and Terry. She gives him a hug and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to run in and save her before he tries to touch her with his peepee. Terry is practically foaming at the mouth over working with Britney and calls it one of his "all-time most exciting moments." To make that statement even sadder, the very next scene is of Brit holding that ludicrous inflatable microphone. Terry explains that he likes to work against an "organic, natural" white wall and give his subjects props. He also likes to take pictures of people with animals. Here comes the donkey! And chickens. And a miniature pony. C'mon pony...kill, kill! Terry's segment closes with him saying he got a little help from (points upward). Of course, we didn't end up seeing what happened with the donkey, so we'll never know exactly what kind of help he got.
Next Candie's bitch is back to claim that Britney really likes their crappy clothes. The film cuts to Britney saying, "I really like the dresses...fitting and flattering...blah blah blah." But I don't hear the rest because what in the ever-loving fuck is that pee-colored mop on her head? Is that "hair?" It looks like a $2 Mary Tyler Moore wig made out of blonde Barbie hair. Hopefully it will come alive and kill everyone on the set. I think it's possible.
Next up, we have the Annie Leiboviz segment. Britney asks Annie, "Can we play?" and Annie says yes. The next shot is of Brit sitting primly on a wooden stool against a poop-colored matte dropcloth. How playful. The Candie's bitch says they wanted Annie to do a "classic Annie portrait." Translation: a Josten's senior class portrait. Mercifully, this boring-ass shoot gets the least amount of coverage in the video.
Candie's Bitch starts going on about all the little details they have to think about on a shoot like this. Such as how they need to "candy-ize" Britney's trailer by covering each available surface with cupcakes and sweets in pink wrappers. Just what you need on the set of a fashion shoot: loads of fattening, tooth-rotting candy. They also hired Britney's favorite DJ to "spin" while they "work." Britney breathily informs us that most of the time he plays hip-hop, "which you can really get down with." And that hair...I just can't. I want to shoot it.
Finally, we have the session with Mark Seliger, who has constructed some kind of custom Moulin Rouge-style boudoir for his set. The room looks like it was hosed down within an inch of its life with Pepto Bismol. It's really, really, really pink.
Mark says he wanted to go with a French burlesque feel for his shoot. We then see Britney wearing a pink tank top and jeans. She's arching her back and trying to look sexy. Meanwhile, her hair looks like a giant banana peel sitting on her head. It's just all so embarrassing. Mark says he gave Brit "an environment to play around in" and the video cuts to a shot of him screaming, "That's good! DON'T MOVE, DON'T MOVE, DON'T MOVE!" Whoever edited this video must be a Stupid & Contagious reader. Hi, editor!
Next, Mark has Britney sprawled across a motorcycle that's parked on Astroturf. She's trying to be sexy again and all I can think is that she's a 28-year-old, twice-divorced mother of two. I mean, how much longer is she going to try to do this vampy Lolita thing? At the very end, Brit flips her polysynthetic head topper around and says, "My Candie's shoot (flip, flip) is a wrap." After all these years, she still sounds like a third-grader when she talks. Oh Britney, don't ever change!
