Posted on 03/26/2002 9:21:37 AM PST by meandog
Spears arrived almost an hour late>/b>
Britney Spears left fans disappointed at the UK première of her debut film on Monday when she declined to meet dedicated followers who had waited for hours to get autographs and chat to the star.
Some of the 3,000 fans - who had come from as far away as South Africa - booed and hissed the star when she was whisked into the screening of Crossroads just moments after arriving at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End.
"All I saw was a flash of sequin and that was it"-- Fran Handley, 16 Fan
Despite a re-appearance on the cinema's balcony, some fans were left in tears after hopes of meeting their idol were dashed.
One banner made by fans proclaimed that its owner had "come all the way from South Africa to see you", while others carried messages like: "Britney I want to be you - you're the best."
But Spears was almost an hour late for the première and did not have time to go on a walkabout, as many stars do.
Spears and co-star Mount later appeared on a balcony
Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz famously spent an hour talking to fans before a recent première - even agreeing to talk to friends and family on fans' mobile phones.
But the booing is a blow for Spears' acting hopes as she tries to promote her first cinema appearance to fans.
One fan, 11-year-old Gemma Willis, had queued with mother Jane since 1530 GMT to see the star.
"Gemma's crying her eyes out because she couldn't see a thing," Mrs Willis said.
"How does Britney expect people to go and see her film if she can't be bothered to say hello to her fans?"
S Club 7's Rachel Stevens was at the première
Fran Handley, 16, of Uckfield, East Sussex, had waited for nearly six hours in the hope of getting an autograph, but said: "It wasn't worth my time."
Singer Charlotte Church, S Club 7 member Rachel Stevens and TV presenter Dani Behr were among the other stars who turned up.
Earlier in the day, Spears gave a hint that rumours of her split from Justin Timberlake may be true.
She told reporters that she was not in "an intense relationship" - but refused to discuss her private life further.
She also said she wanted to concentrate on acting rather than singing in the immediate future.
"Music is my heart and soul and that's what I'm going to do, but I think right now acting is so much fun, it's a whole new ballgame and a new territory and I want to focus on that right now," she said.
Asked if an Oscar was one of her ambitions, she said: "That would be very nice, that would be something I can dream about."
She has two new films in the pipeline, it was revealed.
"One of them is an intense relationship movie, and the other is an ensemble dramatic piece which is multi-generational," according to the Crossroads producer, Ann Carli.
Spears, 20, has been on a European promotional tour that has also taken in Holland, Spain and Europe's most popular TV game show, Wetten Dass...?! (Want to bet...?!), in Germany.
Crossroads sees Spears play Lucy, a young woman who goes on a trip across the US with two friends to resolve problems in their life.
Her acting has been praised by many critics, and the film has taken more than $36m (£25m) at US box offices - three times the amount it cost to make.
It also stars Sex And The City actress Kim Cattrall as Lucy's mother and Dan Ackroyd as her father.
The film opens in the UK on Friday
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm looking for an excuse to spank her.
I bow to your knowledge of the business, though I would have relished the opportunity to say something truly nasty for all to see. I guess that's why we have FreeRepublic, yes? To vent our opinions of various creeps.
You see, that's the kind of reason I can understand.
[snortle] You ain't alone, dude...
"she....doesn't seem to cause anybody any harm."
Unless you have teen daughters.
Wait, make that a whole lotta discipline...
Presumably, this particular fan has now been disabused of this particular notion.
It's a two-way street----if she wants to give her fans nothing, she should remember they don't owe her anything either. Especially someone like Spears with so little talent shouldn't treat her fans like this.
Now she's gone too far. I'm going to have to take her over my knee and spank her.
Unless you have teen daughters.
That's rich. "My daughter has lost her way. She was a fine young girl until she was caught in the grips of.....Britney Spears!"
She's no more dangerous to the youth of America than Elvis, the Beatles, Black Sabbath, Twisted Sister, or any other bogeyman of the Tipper Gore crowd. What, with all of Spears' inane espousals of virginity, you'd think she'd be the PMRC poster child.
Hell, who cares who spanks whom? ;)
All right, you don't have to knock the whole South (even if she DOES come from Louisiana). She's one of the Disney kids, like the N'Sync boys and Christina Aguilera. She was hyped by Disney and its marketing partners, then I guess went out on her own.
Time will tell how long she lasts, but I blame the parents for allowing their kids to emulate girls like her, the same way parents of young girls bought clothes so their little darlings could dress like Cyndi Lauper and Madonna in the 80s. Pre-teens don't usually have the money to purchase their own clothes, so parents CAN exercise a veto over clothing purchases. The problem is with spineless parents who are desparate for their kids to 'fit in' with the other little hellions at school.
Anyone that would actually travel thousands of miles just to see this girl in person is a colossal loser, if not worse.
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