We’ve all heard of this new Britney Movie in the works and is being directed by the “Wicked” Man himself, Jon M Chu (see what I did there) and Produced by Marc Platt. Britney Spears herself will be involved in the project as this movie is based on her memoir The Woman In Me, published in 2023. Some of the actresses in the running for Britney’s part are Addison Rae, Millie Bobby Brown, and Tate McRae. While all these talented women seem like great choices, I think the perfect person to play Britney Spears would be Kylie Schultz.
If you’ve been on TikTok recently, Kylie Schultz is going viral for dancing to Britney Spears songs and being her almost-identical lookalike. She dances to the original choreography as well as sings and acts! A triple threat I must say!
Kylie is a senior Television and Digital Media Production major with double-minors in Theater and Dance spending her last semester of college in Los Angeles through Ithaca College’s ICLA Program. While attending Ithaca, Kylie was heavily involved on-campus through student productions and Ithaca College dance organization, IC Unbound, as a choreographer and member of the Executive Board.
I have known Kylie for three years. I met her during my Freshman Year of College through Unbound and through dance, we got closer and she became a mentor/older sister-figure to me. Being friends with her, I was able to feel more comfortable on campus. She convinced me to get the dance minor and she was one of the first people I told when I got it! She has really shaped me into the performer and woman I am today and have been so lucky to have met her. This interview was a lovely way to catch up with her as we haven’t had the chance to talk in a while.
I sat down with kylie, herself
Leezum: So, when you started content creating, what were some of the steps you took to get yourself out there?
Kylie: I actually started for the first time ever back when I was in high school. I shared platform with my sisters that started right before COVID-19 hit. Huge theater kids. We did a lot of like theatrical content. It was called Sister Edition, and, you know, I- it really blew up. Like we got a lot of opportunities from that. We did some content for Leslie Odom Jr. from Hamilton, and we did like Curology stuff, so that was my first dip into content creation. I think for me, what was really eye-opening about that is like I was so grateful to have my sisters because we all kind of took a different aspect of it and were able to kind of just like work solely on. I was more of the creative, my older sister was more like the business part of it and my little sister was the cute face (laughs) because she’s like a little baby. So it was nice to just be able to explore, like, the specificity or whatever it is, in just like those little things. And then I- at high school, I got bullied pretty bad, and then I got really insecure, so I was like, I can’t do this. Also, we all separated because then I ended up going to college and my older sister went back to college because like the pandemic, things were like passing now. But yeah, when I finally felt confident and excited to start, like going into my own content again, it was like the sophomore year of college. and I just decided that I didn’t. I bet you know, I was just gonna do what I wanted and not like care about what like other people thought. Just like put myself out there and just try to have fun. Throughout that growth, then I was like learning more about the business part of it and being able to, you know, connect with other brands and do those things like through my own self. And so it just all kind of came together through those steps, but it wasn’t like necessarily new to me because it was something that I had been able to watch like my sister do, like, through the prior experience. So, it kind of was just like the pieces were coming together and I just kind of had to learn how to like connect them. Which was really great. and, yeah, it just continued and I feel like the more uh the more freedom I like discover within just like, my content. Like I’ve tried so many different types of things and I used to try to do like what I thought would work or like what I thought, like what I was seeing all of my For You Page thinking like, oh, like maybe like I’ll be able to like meet more people this way or like, grow a bigger audience this way. But like I was feeling like so drained almost cause like things just like weren’t working. So like once I finally was like I don’t know if I can curse, but like, once I finally was like, I do not give a f**k, I do not care. Like, I’m not thinking about anybody else other than me. It’s not about like growing the audience. It’s not about trying to do, like what I think works. I’m just going to do. I’m just gonna make it mine and just like it’s like my portfolio and I’m just having fun and I’m just putting stuff out there and like just being creative and this my outlet and then from there I kind of just started to see like more growth, more connectedness. I’m so sorry; there’s like a garbage truck outside.
Leezum: (garbage truck noises) (laughs) It’s totally okay!
Kylie: (laughs) It was like people and I found that as the audience was growing, it was like people that are actually staying and like building that kind of, that face community, because it’s all it was people that resonated with the things that I also liked and they brought ideas and things to do. It became like play, you know, like it just started being fun. So it was really cool.
Leezum: Awesome. beautiful. So I have a feeling I know one of the answers to this is, but what was the one post that really changed things for you?
Kylie: Oh, that’s a good one. Yeah, I would say it was for Sister Edition. Yeah, the Heathers posts really took off because it became a trend. like,
Leezum: Yeah, yeah!
Kylie: There’s still people that like come up to me or they message, or like I have friends that go to other schools and, they talk to people and they’re like, ‘You’re friends with the Heathers girl’ or, like, it’s crazy the way that picked up steam and it was just like my favorite musical at the time and I absolutely loved it, because I was so angsty. (laughs) I was like, I was just doing things like that, I loved it, and I was like, I can make my sisters do this with me, why not? Yeah, we all took turns being different parts, and like people in the comments would be like, ‘I want this one to be the yellow one. ’
Leezum: (laughs)
Kylie: Like it was so like funny, and then so many people sort of doing it and joining and like, doing it with their friends or their family or it was just like, it was so freaking cool to see, how it went crazy and so, so many people just got excited, and that was really, really great.
Leezum: Yes.
Kylie: Yeah. And for my own personal account, it was the first post I ever made about the Britney movie. I think I tell everybody that it that was like the first up until that point, that’s I feel like I was trying to do the things that I was like, ‘this might work’ or ‘this is what I’m seeing, so I’m gonna try to do this’ and again, like I was still a little nervous posting back on social media kind of. Just cause of some of the things that I faced in high school, and I know it’d been a long time and, you know, but I was still like working through that and when I saw the announcement that this movie was greenlit and like going into development, like my body literally had like a reaction. Like every single part of me was screaming. It was like, this is literally my dream! Like this is everything I would want to do in one film and one production. I love Brittany. I grew up with her, my mom loves Y2K pop music, like that’s what we grew up listening to, especially Britney, and her story is just so empowering and everything that she shared through her vulnerability and just like her strength and her stories as a woman, especially in your 20s. It is so relevant and important, especially moving on to LA and like things happen. Like there’s been instances where I can see how things can get very, very uncomfortable, you know, and I’m able to kind of remember, like what she talked about and what she went through and I’m able. That’s like a way that I kind of have like caution moving forward, like when working with people in the industry and things like that. Cause, yeah, being a young girl, it can be very vulnerable. So, it was just the second I saw that this was happening. I wish I could say something that wasn’t as cheesy, but like, I just knew in that moment that I needed to do anything that I could just to get noticed for an audition. Like, I don’t I need to be handed anything, obviously, but I just like want a chance, you know? So I was like screw this. I am stepping out of my comfort zone. I’m just gonna learn this dance. I’m just gonna post it. I think I had like 5,000 followers at the time. I was like, those 5,000 people are gonna love this. And it blew up. Like, it went crazy. I did it for myself, and I was just trying to have fun and be passionate and, like, I found I found an audience that really resonated with that, and that was really great. And in that moment, it kind of just felt like what I thought was right was also the universe was ‘like this is right’. And even if it doesn’t work out in any way, ever, it really helps. This whole journey has really helped bring my confidence and, you know, really embrace who I am as a performer and an artist and just graduating college, which is scary. I just feel like I have gained so many valuable lessons out of this so far and have made so many great connections and friends, and I’m just really excited to see what happens. But yeah, that video was what started it all, which is crazy because I look, everything’s changed so much. Like, I actually went back, and I watched that video. It was like yesterday. I was with one of my roommates, and we were just like, it’s just like my energy, like you I just I don’t look so scared anymore. And it is such a great feeling, you know.
Leezum: Yeah. No, it’s awesome! The next question is connected to this Britney Journey.
Kylie: Ahh!! (smiles)
Leezum: So, how has Britney inspired you as a performer?
Kylie: Gosh, as a performer specific. Well, I mean, I think, like again, just going off of like a little bit of what I said before, like entering the industry just her resilience, her strength, her vulnerability and sharing. All of her experiences have been so important to myself and everybody that has read the book and follows and supports her. It truly is so important to hear and just be reminded, but overall, as a performer, she was just her. Like she wasn’t trying to be, you know, this way or that way. She never was trying to fit into categories. She did so many different things and brought so many different styles into her music and who she is, and she pulled inspiration from so many people, especially Janet Jackson, and she credited all of them. She was so humble and beautiful, and I mean, she still is, and those are the things like, it’s important to just like find that within yourself and remember that that is like what’s so important within your art, like in anything you do. It’s what’s unique about it, what’s special, what’s magnetic about it is how you can connect yourself to what you’re doing and you know, if you stay true to your authenticity and just the reasons why you love doing what you do, then I think something magical can come out of it. But yeah, she’s just so fierce, and she had such an amazing way of embracing her sexuality as a woman in a way that was for herself. I know that maybe people have different opinions about that, but I see it with Sabrina Carpenter, too. It is so important as a woman, you can be so many different things and like it’s still who you are. We saw her grow up and we saw the transformation and we just saw her coming to her own and again, like she always was down to earth and was that, you know, sweet southern belle and she just, yeah, embraced all of it, all of those things and she let us share that journey with her and I just it’s it’s a lot and it’s really incredible.
Leezum: Awesome. I also think she never performed for any sense of male validation. I don’t think. Like I don’t, she..
Kylie: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so many great things, too. She did Crossroads and went into acting, and she was in The Awesome Powers. But like, she just did so much stuff. Like the Pepsi stuff. Everything she did, she did it for Britney. It was a Britney thing. It wasn’t a thing for Pepsi. It wasn’t a thing for Crossroads. It was ‘this is who I am and I am going to show everybody how great that is.’
Leezum: Absolutely.
Kylie: And that’s a wonderful, wonderful thing. I think it’s so girl of us, we were like oh, I would love to like it sounds so simple but it’s hard. It’s very hard to feel that way and feel so secure and you don’t maybe a lot of maybe there was times where she was faking it and maybe she wasn’t feeling that way, but like she’s able to do it in such like a beautiful, humble way. It’s just it’s indescribable everything that she’s done, but every moment of it has been just remarkable and just yeah, again, just so beautiful.
Leezum: Beautiful. Well, talking a bit more about authenticity. Now, this is a question going back to you, Miss Kylie. How do you stay authentic while working for brands? Because I know you’ve had a lot of brand partnerships and stuff like that. I remember you did this whole Sol De Janerio partnership for Unbound. I still have some of the stuff.
Kylie: It’s good!
Leezum: It’s great! It smells awesome. It works really well. I mean, it’s really lovely, but how do you Kylie Schultz, stay authentic while working for brands?
Kylie: I think this is actually a great question. Like, even outside of brands, just overall, because a big thing that I get, with what I’ve been doing with this movie is like… I’ve I think there’s this idea that I’m trying to be a Britney impersonator, and I’m not trying to do that at all because that’s I would never try to copy and paste her. I have so much respect for her as a person and all the stuff that she’s done. Again, it’s just like audition things. It’s, you know, recreating these things that inspire me and, when I do it, like I’m not necessarily trying to be her. I’m just trying to with that energy, like how she was always herself. I’m just trying to bring that sort of confidence and energy and all of that into, like, what I do. So that, moving into brands, I think a big thing is when brands reach out to me, it’s because they’ve already really seen the content that I’ve created and they like it. It resonates with them. It’s an audience they want to connect with. So I know that I don’t have to try too hard to do something different. And again, like with this authenticity, it’s just…I can be myself. I can keep creating things. It’s like, how can I incorporate this? Like with this Sol De Janerio last winter break. So like 2023 or 2024? I don’t even know what year it is now. (Laughs) But, I re-created the Priscilla movie scene where she gets the makeover and like I had some acting in there as well as like the transformation with the hair and the makeup and it did really well; it resonated with a lot of people. Everybody seemed to be really excited, including Sol De Janerio. So like they reached out, wanting to send me…they had the hair products, the leave in conditioner. And so when I got that, I just knew like, ‘oh, they really liked this video, I can show how I can use this product to do my hair the way I did it in that video.’ And so, like, then I created a hair tutorial using the product. Especially like with all the stuff I’ve been doing with Sony Music and RCA. They already like the things that I’m already doing, so it’s just, ‘How can I incorporate their message and, you know, their goals into my content as well?’ Like wearing their things, attending the events, just showing how much I love, you know, their brand and what they stand for and represent, and that I hope everybody just has fun and, yeah. And, I haven’t been paid for any of my brand stuff.
Leezum: WHAT!?
Kylie: Yeah, I have not. I actually haven’t been paid. I don’t make money on TikTok either. I don’t make any money off of this. I’m simply doing it because I like and am genuinely very passionate about this all, and it’s my creative outlet. I mean, like I get their products for free and to promote them, and that’s always really great. But no, I have not received any sort of payment or anything like that for any of the stuff; I just do it cause I love it. There are collabs that I turned down. There’s things that if I don’t feel like it resonates with myself or my audience, I’m just I’m not gonna take up the offer. So, like, that’s a big part of the authenticity, too. It’s like it’s doing things that I feel are like genuinely representative of me and like who I am as a person as well as my community and like what we’re doing together, cause it’s not just like I love my platform and I call it mine, but it really is my whole communities because it wouldn’t be where it’s at if it was for all the people that continually come back in support and comment and like and offer ideas. So it’s it’s I want to serve them as well, you know.
Leezum: Awesome. That’s really cool. I didn’t know that.
Kylie: Yeah, yeah. Through Tiktok, you can only make money if you…there’s like a bunch of these very specific things, which I do fulfill, but you have to have videos over one minute long, and people have to watch at least the first 30 seconds, like a certain amount of people. I think it would be like three cents. (Laughs) I’m not even kidding. I’m actually so dead serious. I think I’ve only made, like, three cents. But again, I don’t do it for that at all.
Leezum: That’s really refreshing to hear, because I feel like a lot of the time people are like, you know, ‘I’ll do it for a check’, Again, considering like the audience that you have, I think it is, really important to reinstate that message of you doing this for yourself and for your audience. You’re not just doing it to make like a band or whatever, you know.
Kylie: Yeah, no bands. She poor! (laughs)
Leezum: (laughs)
Kylie: She’s the definition of a broke college student! (laughs)
Leezum: I didn’t know that. That is, like, that’s really fascinating. I didn’t know that. Wow,
Kylie: It isn’t easy; it’s very complicated. It’s a very complicated process, and it’s also hard., People don’t go on TikTok to watch long-form content. So, unless you’re like one of those people that post like the TV shows or the films…unless you’re doing something like that where you can really like hook somebody and really have their attention for a long time. It doesn’t typically resonate super well with a TikTok audience.
Leezum: Okay. I don’t know if this is something that you feel or not. How do you deal with the pressure of always being on?
Kylie: Yeah, you mean like the performative aspect of it all?
Leezum: Mhm.
Kylie: I think being totally real, it’s definitely had its moments, back when I was still on campus, trying to post every day and with classes. There also is just so much hate too, like there’s so much hate. It is insane. And luckily, the more I thought through that and really got through that and learned to just kind of stop looking at it or taking it fully seriously or, you know, let it affect me. I found that it just honestly grew my audience more with people that will now like stand up for me in the comments and explain things that seem like they would be common sense, but I don’t know. So I think with all of that pressure, it did take a huge toll on my mental health, and I definitely took a content creation break after my thesis wrapped and like the transition to moving to LA just because I that was already so challenging in itself. There was so much happening within like a month or two and I just knew that. I also don’t want to put things out there that I don’t feel proud of or I don’t feel like are valuable to my audience. So, like, I don’t wanna force anything either. So I took a little break and that definitely was really great, but I think it’s the awareness of knowing being able to reflect within myself and like know like when is when when has it gone too far? Like when do I need a little break? How often am I trying to get these videos in? Or like, especially with dance content, I mean, cause it’s like, you’re learning the choreography and you’re watching the music video where there’s a bunch of cuts and you’re kind of having to fill the blanks, but it’s also mirrored because I’m gonna be filming it on TikTok, so I have to learn the whole thing backwards. and because it’s Britney Spears and everybody loves her, it has to be perfect because if it’s not people are gonna rip me apart and again, I just want to do her justice and again, I’m also not trying to be her. I just I love, I love her choreo. I love oh, Brian Friedman’s choreo. I love the choreo. I love the way she brings herself into it. It’s just so inspiring and it yeah, it makes me it makes me want to do the dance, because like, why not? It’s amazing., so it’s over and it’s like, oh, I I don’t like that take. Let me do it again. Oh, I don’t like that take, let me do it again. But then you’re doing like full on dancing. So I used to have a fan, like blowing my hair and everybody loved it, but I didn’t do it for the effects of my hair blowing. I was doing it because I was like actually overheating.
Leezum: (laughs)
Kylie: And like I was sweating so much and like, in between takes it’ be like (mimicking deep breaths) okay, we gotta do it again.. And you also know like, especially as like a film student, like, you see that one little detail and it’s gonna drive you crazy unless you fix it.
Leezum: Yes!
Kylie: It was also that as well, which is like a really hard game. And so that got to be a lot and um I think with a finding more of my confidence now and like just being able to really embrace me and not think as critically about what people are gonna say in the comments if my hand’s in a fist instead of a blade or oh, I don’t know. There’s a thousand things people say and pick apart and uh I think the big lesson I’ve learned from that is just take over the grain of salt and like you can do it again another time. But like if I love what I brought to it and I feel good doing it and I feel like this made me this made me feel great. I loved this. This was so fun. I’m just gonna post it, and that is what it is, and I don’t need to do it a thousand times, you know? So that’s helped a lot, but yeah, getting vulnerable, it can be, it can be really hard because again I am also so appreciative of everybody’s kindness. Like I’ve had so many people DM me, like just strangers that I’ve never met that have just been following my journey since I started the Britney, I posted that first Britney video last August, um August 2nd, actually, and there’s just people that’ve been following the whole time and I don’t I don’t want to disappoint them. And I wanna make sure that, you know, I bring quality content and not just quantity either, which is also really hard because, you know, you want to keep the momentum going and you want to really be able to cater to what everybody’s asking for. But at the same time, it’s like just having that self- reflection, that balance of knowing, like, you can’t do it all. You can’t do it all at least right now. And so, like, I started making a like content calendars and like lists of things and like, oh, like this weekend my goal is to really try to do this dance, this song, this thing, and then like, I’ll do it a few times and no more than that. I’m gonna do it until like I feel like I did really good. I don’t even wanna watch it. and I’ll go back and, yeah, so it’s just been a lot of like patience, self-reflection and also just finding that like confidence and that self esteem within myself as a performer, which is something, honestly that’s always really hard, because you, you know, you know as a dancer, you feel like you can always do better. like, you can always do something better, do something different, or you watch it and you’re like, oh, if I just feel it like this, like this would have been really like cool and like knowing that, you know, it was great the way you did it. and if you want to do it again, you can, but like, take a break, take a breather, you can celebrate the little successes too. Like, you know, the things that do go well and not always it’s not always like a we don’t have to critique everything, you know, that makes sense.
Leezum: Yeah, no, totally. I feel like, Imposter, the movie you made as your Senior thesis. I feel like it was a love letter to a lot of dancers to be like this is something that is commonly felt within the community and it’s okay.
Kylie: Yeah, exactly. And I mean, I made it because it’s something I struggle so much with. And honestly, I didn’t even really know. It was like a full thing until like we all started talking about it and like it became an open discussion because it like had never been my whole life. Like, I felt very isolated in those feelings. I felt very alone because I didn’t understand that so many people felt like they weren’t good enough or that they couldn’t reach the standard that they wanted or even you can be like, you could be the best person in the room and still feel like you don’t deserve it or it’s not accurate or like you’re faking it and it’s very challenging, especially with physical things like dance because it’s it’s your body. Like there’s only so much you can change too, and it’s a lot of like just acceptance as well, which is always just so hard, especially when you’re a young adult and you’re just trying to get through life and everything’s changing and everything’s scary. So it can be hard, but it’s just important to remember, you know, that there’s something so great about you and not something else you’re trying to, you know, cater towards. And just like, once you realize, like, start looking at these things, like, you know what? I loved the way I did that pirouette. Like, I felt maybe I fell out of it, but like, my form was actually there this time, like that, like, trying to just switch the perspective in the mindset to something a bit more positive. Cause then it also like it helps with the burnout, like, you’re more excited, you’re more relaxed, and if anything is just like hypes you up for like the next thing, you know? So, yeah.
Leezum: I think that’s really important to say as well, and I think like following that it’s important to find a community of dancers that, like have that, like positive attitude and stuff like that.
Kylie: So I know it could be hard because a lot of the ways people deal with things like that is through comparison.
Leezum: Yeah.
Kylie: And so it’s it can be very difficult within a community of people, especially when it has to do with your body and the way you look. It can be very hard if you can’t find people that feel similarly or or are always comparing and so, yeah, it’s just being able to recognize those things and hopefully find those and the people you surround yourself with.
Leezum: Awesome. Okay, lovely. Okay. Last question, last and final question. And I think I’m actually going to change this question on the spot. The original question was how do you think your time in Ithaca has shaped who have you become as a professional and a performer? I’ll give you a choice as to which question you want to answer, but I’m going to say the second question is: where do you see yourself with your content creation? And also just like, Your like director-ness because like I know you have directed in the past and I know that’s something that you are very passionate about doing.
Kylie: I can kind of bounce between the two because I feel like they do kind of go hand in hand. because it’s very funny. coming to coming to college was very hard for me because my whole life I had always been a performer and this was the first time I was doing something that wasn’t performing. So, I felt so behind compared to other students in my major. And again, like, it was I applied to so many schools because it was COVID, you know, so like, there was just so much time to fill out applications. And um I applied to all the schools for theater, for musical theater, and I did all auditions and all of this stuff and Ithaca I was the only one that I didn’t do musical theater for. um just because also with my experience with TikTok during COVID, I realized I did really like the creative aspect of being behind a camera, and I just felt like I really loved Ithaca because like their program and what they had to offer. So I was like, I’m gonna take a chance. I’m just gonna like do that one and see and like it’s probably it not even gonna be anything, and I am probably not even gonna come to the school. Like, I honestly had no idea what was in store for me with college because with COVID, everything just felt so unpredictable. Uh, but I got to tour Ithaca and it was a crazy, crazy tour because there was like the rainy weather and the winds and um, but it was very memorable and I instantly knew that like this is I was like, oh, this is like the college from pitch perfect! Like I have to come here! Oh, so I committed the car ride home, but that being said, I had never touched a camera. like, I’m not kidding. I like genuinely like, I could press the button to take a photo, but I didn’t know what the settings meant. I couldn’t do anything. Nothing. So when I started, I felt so isolated, I felt very like an imposter cause I again, like everybody seemed to have had all this film experience, like their high schools may have offered, like media, like clubs, like mine did not have that. So I just felt like maybe I don’t fit in this, and so I was like, I immediately knew like, oh, I really want a minor and like theater and I really want to get an acting classes and I want to like get into some, um music classes and dance classes because those are the things I did my whole life. Like that’s what was home for me. Like that’s my heart. So I was like this is great. Like I’ll try to start some of those things while I’m starting this very new scary thing to kind of balance it out. It was very, very difficult at first because I definitely feel like maybe in the beginning it wasn’t as welcomed as I thought it would be. Unfortunately, I think there is just a lot of mixed feelings about like performance and, you know, um I think that there was views of me not maybe being considered a true performer because it wasn’t the direction I had fully chose for my career. And I think I let that belief take over me for a little bit. And it was like I’m getting very vulnerable right now because it was very hard. I felt like, you know, these are things I love and it kind of just felt like people were like, oh, it’s cute, but like, you’re not that good. And that’s something that’s really hard when, you know, you were gonna put your whole life and into that, you know, that box, uh, but eventually, um, I just I really just kept pushing. I like started all of the film stuff at IC (Ithaca College) and I was trying to get on all these sets just learning behind the scenes and like I was trying to get on all these sets and like try to just like also like when I’m on a set, I wanna shadow like what the actors are doing, but I also wanna shadow like what the crew’s doing and really just be able to understand like how these worlds combine. And I was taking acting classes, I took a voice class, I took all the dance classes and it really did, like strengthen so much of that within me, just like the confidence and the ability and, you know, it’s important. You’re like doing a craft, like, you have to practice and, like, continue to, like, build your skills. So, although, like those feelings were there, like, I tried not to let it get to me as much as possible. um and eventually, I it was also hard too, cause I feel like it’s like a lot of like the student films at the time. I don’t know if it’s necessarily like that anymore, but at the time nobody wanted to cast a non acting or theater major in films. So a lot of it came down to like networking and like that’s so crazy to say. Um, because you’re like oh, I’m like 19 I’m 20. Like what do you mean networking? And like that literally was what it was because I had to reach out to like all my film friends and be like you’re working on this like you don’t know me that well but like this is a huge part of who I am from Pennsylvania like I would play gigs around my town with my guitar and I’d sing and I get paid for it and I was like in every theater show and musical and like I did dance my whole life. Like people like didn’t understand that that’s what I was because it was something that they weren’t seeing. So I had a like I had to tell them and um it came down to a few really great people like giving me a shot and just letting me get on camera and starting those experiences and just kind of even learning what that’s like on camera because I was a huge adjustment, like acting on screen it is so different than stage, but like because I hadn’t taken like those sort of classes yet, I kind of had to figure it out for myself, which looking back, I’m like, oh, oh my God, I don’t wanna I don’t wanna watch myself and that. That’s really- but it’s all great cause it’s like, I really got thrown in the water, and I I had to figure out how to swim, and it was like, it was so great. It was like the best thing I think that could have happened. Plus, like then I felt like I really deserved it, you know, because I worked so hard to try to get a foot in the door in any way possible., and from there, like I just started making a lot of friends throughout the rest of my four years and obviously the emotions and things like that got a lot better and um also just like my self esteem and like I learned a lot of skills within Park (School of Communications on Ithaca College’s Campus). uh and I literally went from like never knowing how to use the camera to like, directing a whole thesis and like producing it and editing it and doing- it was just like it’s insane looking back at like, just how transformative that whole experience was. uh insane with the performance side of it. I mean, I never imagined that that was something I’d be able to do. Like I left I with like maybe like 12, 15 student films under my belt for performance. and like that that I’m like, (laughs) what you told me that in high school, I’m like, what? You can do that?
Kylie: Yeah, I think it was a really great lesson to as I embarked into like this next journey of my life, just that, you know, like to not care as much about what people think of me or, you know, who determines if you’re good or not.
(“who determines if you’re good or not was the tagline of Kylie’s Thesis Film “Imposter” so I thought that was a great reference)
Kylie: You know, like things like that, because everybody has a different opinion. I mean, we have panels out here at ICLA (Ithaca College Los Angeles) and they’ll even they’ll tell you too, like you go into a room with execs, like it’s just an opinion. like nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong. It’s just an opinion. Everything’s an opinion. So you’re gonna find people that love you and people that hate you and honestly, if you’re doing something right, there’s always gonna be people that hate you because there’s different opinions about everything. So, I think that was like the biggest thing is just, you know, not letting other people define who I was as a performer or who I was as a filmmaker, because I will hustle and bustle and work my a*s off to just prove myself, you know, and I think that’s what I did, and I had so many great opportunities at IC just with all the classes I was able to take and my advisor Chrissy (Guest, Associate Professor at IC for Media, Science, and Studies), who was like the best person in the whole world and really was just like so comforting through all of these feelings that I was having and was so understanding and really helped me with figuring out all of this new direction and just like being a woman in film period because that is also like something that is very difficult. So there was just so much support and friendships and, you know, connections that I made throughout my time at IC, that also just really helps that as well. So I think it’s important, like the community, because people really do care. like the alumni, especially like Alumni, like once you’re a bomber, like that goes a long way.
Leezum: Essentially in the next five years where do you see where do you see yourself going career-wise, professionally, but also in what ways do you think you’ll be able to expand your creativity with being out in LA now?
Kylie: Yeah, so it’s actually really exciting. I’m actually so happy you have you asked that, so thanks. Cause I was just talking to my family about this, cause I feel like the direction has changed so many times and honestly, the funniest part, like this kind of goes off the last question is I feel like I kind of just wound up right back where I was, like, senior year of high school, freshman year of college, like I really want to perform. and I love it so much, and I think coming to college made me scared of it because I felt like, oh, maybe they’re right, maybe I’m not I’m not good enough because I’m not I’m not a major in it or something like that. and it’s a whole experience just made me realize that, you know, again, like what we just talked about, like you know who you are and it’s just embracing that as same with like my whole love for Britany and like, that’s just something that’s so powerful with her. but for the next five years, I yeah, I really want to dive into screen acting and dance work. I’m in the process of finding an agent and a manager out here. um, it’s been crazy. I’ve literally have just had like the craziest opportunities happened since being out being in LA because of my social media and um also just being in a place where everybody that’s just trying to follow their dreams one way or another, and it doesn’t feel like there’s any judgment, and that is honestly like they’re really like the coolest thing ever. Cause like being from Pennsylvania, you know, you’re like in the woods and I don’t it’s, you know, there’s a lot of different types of people and here it just it feels like it’s my people. and that is so comforting, so um, yeah, I’m hoping in the next five years, um, I hear from John M Chu.
Leezum: Yes! Manifest that!
(John M Chu please hit Kylie up!)
Kylie: I like would love to play Brittany. That is my dream – that’s my goal. I know there’s a lot of very talented, like, actual like A-list celebrities in the running. Um, so you know what? I fully understand whatever happens, happens. I just would love to be part of it in any way possible because she’s just such an inspiration to me. and I I really want the story to be done in respect and justice to her, which I know John would like a thousand percent do, and I know she’s involved in the project and, you know, she gave permission. It’s about her book. It’s you know, she’s finally getting to share her side of the narrative, which the press have like literally manipulated for her whole life. So I just like whatever happens with it, I just really hope that that is how whoever’s brought on will handle it. But I know like if I (laughs)
Leezum: (laughs)
Kylie: -was brought. if it was me, like, also that’s the thing too. It’s like, I’m a nobody. like, I literally have nothing else to dedicate my time to. I will make sure, like this is everything to me. Like, it’s not just another it’s not just like another job or another thing, like it might be to some other people. Like, this is my dream. It’s not just like, oh, I really want to book a film to be in a film. like, no, I want I really want to respect and share Britney’s story if she lets me. So, that would be the goal being part of that in any way possible. um and then I would love to kind of do sort of like a Zendaya thing where it’s like once I feel comfortable with, like my acting presence and things like that, I can step more into it like a directorial space and do a lot of like of the both sides of it. But I feel like they benefit each other so much too. Like, you know too, like being behind and in front of a camera, like, it just adds a whole new perspective when you can understand what the other side is kind of going through.
Leezum: Absolutely.
Kylie: So, yeah, I think like for me right now, like my biggest thing is just performing and, you know, while I’m young and energetic and ambitious and um, I just want to be able to dance and sing and act and do all do all the things that sound like the coolest things ever to me. And I do love directing so much, and I think the time will come when that feels more fitting, but um, just the way the cards are lining right now, it just it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna be right now. and that is very okay with me because I know it’s like it’s still a love, it’s still something I care so deeply about and it’s not going away. It’s just it’s just gonna be on pause for a little bit. But like that being said being in LA, like, I’m with all my film friends, like, we all wanna create things we’re shooting a little something this weekend just for fun and like, there’s some directing in there and then there’s some like acting in that. So, there’s just so much room for creativity here, like in everything you do, there’s dance studios everywhere. I mean, there’s just so many people that want to be creative with you and like, there’s just these opportunities that seem really like crazy- like I went to a bunch of movie premieres and like have been able to just experience that. Like that was insane because I’m like, I’m a girl from Pennsylvania. What am what am I doing standing on a red carpet? Like that’s not real. But like here it is. Like that’s just like normal. And it’s like, oh, I was like standing next to Daniel Craig all night like what you like it’s the I’m like what are you know it’s like I’m not saying it to like sound anyway other than the fact that I still like cannot believe that this is just normal here, you know, and I’ll be so honest, like the industry right now is in a really bad place and a lot of things aren’t happening here anymore. They are like happening on the east coast because of just like and things like that. but um I just really hope that we can, you know, get that back to what it used to be, because there is something really special about being in a place that is always so exciting and it’s always sunny and everybody is so nice. Everybody’s so nice.
Leezum: They say hi to you and stuff like that. They say hi, how is your day? How are you?
Kylie: A construction worker, we [Kylie and her friends] were walking down the sidewalk and like there was construction so the construction workers like, you can’t walk there. Let me take you around. And he’s like, how’s your day going? How’s everything going? Let me walk with you. Like it’s just like everybody is so kind. But there’s also so many people walking around that probably are huge influencers or have, you know, our big important names and you also don’t know. And it’s all just normal and it’s really exciting, so that’s been a really, really cool perspective and just like dipping in the water to what hopefully will come after graduation.
thoughts and opinions
So, Jon M Chu, if you are reading this or an executive at Universal Studios, I really hope this article amplifies Kylie’s chance to play Britney.
She is one of the most dedicated people I know. Her ability to give it all to her art is so beautiful and truly one of a kind. I know she would play Britney with such grace, fierceness, and kindness. Her work ethic is undeniable, and she goes into everything she does with such passion. Giving her the chance to play Britney would change everything. It’s important to amplify artists with passion and she has that fire! I hope this interview is a testimony to her passion, work, and dedication towards playing Britney. She wouldn’t just play Britney, she would be Britney. Giving her all to tell the story of the icon, the legend, Britney Spears herself.