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Wicked director Jon M. Chu teases upcoming Britney Spears biopic has 'huge potential'
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Jon M. Chu has teased the upcoming Britney Spears biopic - which is an adaptation of the pop star's best-selling 2023 memoir, The Woman In Me. The filmmaker, 45, recently stepped behind the camera to direct the anticipated movie, Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo - which hits theaters later this month on November 22. While promoting the film, Jon gave an update regarding the upcoming biopic during an interview with E! News over the weekend. At one point, the director was asked if he has spoken to Spears, 42, and he replied with, 'Yes, I'm very, very excited about it.' 'I think there's huge potential about telling a great story, one that she deserves, but I'll say - I'll leave it at that.' And while talking to The Hollywood Reporter in an published on Wednesday, Chu also briefly opened up about the adaptation. He explained Britney, 'represents a generation of people growing up in the 2000s and late '90s. She has a story that deserves to be told properly. There's a lot about us in it.' 'We haven't written the script yet. But in this initial conception, I think it's a lot about how we treat people, young people, stars that we think we own, women, mothers. There's a lot of things in there that I would love to explore.' In regards to receiving shout outs from Spears on social media, the filmmaker expressed that it was 'an honor.' 'I love that. I think she likes to tease the audience in different ways. So I'll let it be a mystery on her part, but I'm excited to work with her.' Chu - who also directed Crazy Rich Asians - revealed to the outlet that he has 'been a Britney fan for many years. I saw her when she was one of 12 acts at the Shrine Auditorium.' 'I've gone to many of her shows, and she's always been someone I've looked up to,' he continued. The Woman In Me was officially released one year earlier in October 2023 and quickly became a best-seller after hitting shelves. At the time, Spears celebrated the book becoming the 'highest selling celebrity memoir in history' on the first day of release. The Baby One More Time singer gushed to her followers on Instagram, 'It's happening!!!' 'My book is the highest selling celebrity memoir in history and it's only day 1 !!! Thank you to the fans who have been so supportive !!! Love you all !! #TheWomanInMe She uploaded a photo of the book cover and included a short reel that had the words, 'My story. On my terms. At last,' appear on the screen. The audiobook version was also released, which notably was narrated by Oscar-nominated actress, Michelle Williams. Spears recorded a small portion of the book and avoided narrating chapters discussing her family due to the content being 'too painful to retell,' TMZ reported. In her memoir, the star opens up about her 13-year conservatorship, relationship with her family, as well as fame and marriages to Kevin Federline and Sam Asghari. In an excerpt obtained by People, the star revealed that she had gotten an abortion with ex Justin Timberlake. The former couple previously dated from 1999 until their split in 2002. A few months earlier in August, it was revealed that the Britney Spears biopic was officially in the works after Universal acquired the rights following a bidding war . Along with Chu directing the upcoming project, Marc Platt will be producing the feature. Platt is known for working on the Legally Blonde franchise. At the time, Spears also confirmed the news by penning on social media: 'Excited to share with my fans that I've been working on a secret project with #MarcPlatt. He's always made my favorite movies ... stay tuned.' Shortly after, one celebrity name - Emma Roberts - began floating around to possibly portray Britney in the film , although official casting has yet to be announced. Spears' former assistant, Felicia Culotta, had reportedly been the one to bring Emma's name to the table. The American Horror Story actress later shared her reaction during an interview with Cosmopolitan. 'I was like: "I love her assistant." I mean, it's my true dream to play Britney Spears. It's a rumor, but I hope maybe it'll come true,' Roberts revealed. 'I mean, I remember I locked myself in my room and listened to In The Zone and said: "I cannot leave this room until I memorize every word."' Jon M. Chu has been keeping busy as he prepares for his latest film, Wicked, to release in theaters on November 22. The musical adaptation stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum. The second part of the film is slated to premiere in theaters the following year in November 2025. During a recent interview with Forbes earlier this month, he recalled working on set and bringing the movie to life with the cast and crew. 'Me, Ari and Cynthia very frequently would grab each other's hands like - "Look at everybody! They're all working and that's the yellow brick road. We are on the yellow brick road and you're in witch outfits. This is insane!"' 'Just seeing the yellow brick road and being on-set with it, it evokes a lot of emotions in you as a film lover.' He further added, 'And the scale of it, walking into Emerald City and having hundreds and hundreds of dancers.' 'Seeing a giant head of the wizard talking in real time and we built that thing - having a train roll in, a 60-ton train that they can get in and get off.' 'And you have smoke and it feels like an old classic Hollywood [movie]. I mean, this is Ben-Hur, this is Lawrence Of Arabia...'
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