Jon M. Chu on His Britney Spears Biopic: "What Does Freedom Actually Cost?"

"In 2024, Deadline reported that Universal Pictures won the rights to adapt Spears's memoir2023's The Woman in Meinto a feature film. Who would helm the story? None other than filmmaker Jon M. Chu, who is no stranger to the music world. He directed the concert documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in his early days, the mega-hit Wicked adaptation last year, and its follow-up Wicked: For Good, debuting November 21."

""She did what she had to do to survive," Chu said. "She deserves a story that honors that." Judging by Chu's comments, he likely won't gloss over the difficult moments of the pop star's career, which includes drug addiction, depression, and her conservatorship. As he continued: "Now that she has her freedom, what does freedom actually cost? And what does that look like? What can we do most to encourage her to be free and not try to turn her into whatever we want her to be?""

Musician biopics are currently popular, with recent films portraying Elvis, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen. Universal Pictures acquired rights to adapt Britney Spears's 2023 memoir The Woman in Me into a feature film. Jon M. Chu is attached to direct the adaptation, bringing experience from music-related projects including Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and the Wicked films. Chu described reading the memoir as a profound experience and emphasized that Spears "did what she had to do to survive" and deserves a story that honors that. The film is expected to address her struggles with addiction, depression, and conservatorship. Casting remains unconfirmed and development is early.

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