A biopic based on Britney Spears’ memoir The Woman In Me was announced Thursday by Universal Pictures.
Jon Chu is set to direct the film, while Marc Platt will produce, Variety reported.
“Excited to share with my fans that I’ve been working on a secret project with Marc Platt. He’s always made my favorite movies ... stay tuned,” Spears wrote Thursday on Twitter.
Bidding rights to make a film from Spears’ memoir were hotly contested, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Woman In Me has sold more than 2.5 million copies in the United States, and the audiobook was the fastest selling in Simon & Schuster’s history.
Chu and Platt also teamed up on the upcoming Wicked film, starring Ariana Grande. Chu is known for working on musically driven films, such as Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Step Up 2: The Streets and In the Heights, among others. Platt is best known for La La Land, Cruella and the 2023 The Little Mermaid.
Spears, 42, has lived almost all of her life in the public eye, from her days on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to the intense conservatorship battle with her father.
The Woman In Me was released in October 2023 and immediately skyrocketed up bestseller lists, moving more than 1 million copies in the first week. The title references a lyric in her 2001 song I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman.
In the book, Spears revealed that she had an abortion after getting pregnant during a relationship with Justin Timberlake. She said Timberlake encouraged her to get the abortion.
“My book’s purpose was not to offend anyone by any means!” Spears wrote on Instagram after the release. “That was me then...that is in the past!”
The audiobook, narrated by Oscar winner Michelle Williams, was released at the same time. Spears only read the introduction of the audiobook, saying she did not want to relive the “heart-wrenching and emotional” content again. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
