All those years of singing Britney Spears in the shower might’ve paid off for actor Emma Roberts. In early August, the singer’s assistant Felicia Culotta said she wanted Roberts to play the singer in the movie adaptation of The Woman in Me, the New York Times best-selling memoir about the life of Spears. In an interview with Cosmo, Roberts revealed she was ecstatic about the vote of confidence and shared a key childhood memory.
“I was like,
I love her assistant,”
she told Cosmo. “I mean, it’s my true dream to play Britney Spears. It’s a rumor, but I hope maybe it’ll come true. 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.’”
Roberts, like many millennials, grew up as a huge Britney fan. The love for the pop star hasn’t died out over the years, and it has boiled over into her parenting. She told Cosmo she sings songs to her son all the time during his bath time.
“Oh yeah! I mean, I sing Britney to my son in the bath all the time. I’m always like, ‘God, he must think I’m so weird.’ That’s some millennial parenting.”
The former child actor turned scream queen has the chops to pull off the role. One of Roberts’ earliest acting roles was Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous, a show where she played a singer, aptly named Addie Singer, going through middle school. Culotta also revealed she wants Dune star Timothée Chalamet to play Spears’ then-partner Justin Timberlake. Chalamet is no stranger to biopics as he’s portraying Bob Dylan in the upcoming film A Complete Unknown. Culotta says she wants Drew Barrymore to portray her in the adaptation. A star-studded cast like this would certainly get fans into the theater.
What is The Woman in Me about?
The Woman in Me is a memoir that depicts Spears’ rise to stardom, delves into her family tragedies, and goes over the highly-publicized conservatorship that was ended by a judge in 2023. Spears commanded a $15 million book deal, which is up there with one of the largest deals of all time. Actress Michelle Williams narrates the audiobook while Spears lends her voice to the memoir’s introduction. It went on to sell over two million copies in the United States alone.
There was a bidding war for a film adaptation, with Universal Pictures eventually securing the rights. The film is set to be directed by Jon M. Chu, best known as the director of 2018’s breakout hit Crazy Rich Asians, In The Heights, and 2024’s upcoming musical Wicked. Also attached to the project is Marc Platt, whose involvement was revealed by Spears on X. Platt is a prominent producer who has been involved with the making of La La Land, 2019’s Aladdin, and the aforementioned Wicked to name a few. There has been no casting news about who will play Spears or any other characters in the adaptation. Roberts could have an early leg up over the competition thanks to Spears’ assistant, but several young actresses could easily play the pop star.