Following the enormous success of “Michael,” it comes as little surprise that Hollywood is lining up more musician biopics. The biographical film about the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson (1958-2009) has to date pulled in almost a billion dollars in worldwide box office. For several years now, Universal Studios has been known to be developing a film adaptation of Britney Spears’ (44) memoir “The Woman in Me: My Story.” As director, the studio has already secured “Wicked” creator Jon M. Chu (46). Now, Elizabeth “Liz” Meriwether (44), the mind behind the hit series “New Girl,” is also on board as the writer, according to an initial report by “Page Six Hollywood.”
The planned musician-biography thus takes a massive step forward. Meriwether, who also created the successful series “The Dropout” and “Dying for Sex,” is set to complete the first draft of the screenplay for Britney Spears’ life story, a task Chu and producer Marc Platt (69) have already begun. A key personnel move for the biopic. Other production decisions, such as casting the lead role, are not yet known at present.
Bestseller “The Woman in Me”
“The Woman in Me” was released in October 2023. In its first week of sale, 1.1 million copies of Spears’ memoir flew off the shelves. In total, more than three million copies were sold in the United States, with worldwide sales exceeding six million. The work also reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list.
Spears writes about her early days in the entertainment industry in the book. She also takes aim at her former partner Justin Timberlake (45) at one point. The revelation that she had an abortion during their relationship because he “didn’t want to become a father” sparked a massive backlash against the singer.
Turbulent Years
After the peak years of hits like “…Baby One More Time,” “Toxic,” and “Oops!… I Did It Again,” the singer drew headlines especially for mental-health struggles. In 2021, her roughly 13-year conservatorship under her father Jamie Spears (74) finally ended.
The star regained control of her life, yet since then she has continued to attract attention with some odd social-media appearances, such as the infamous “knife-dance” video from September 2023, or an arrest and subsequent charges for driving under the influence at the start of this year. (spot)
