Britney Spears’ Involvement in Film Based on Her Memoir Has Become ‘an Obstacle’ for Universal Pictures (Exclusive)

A highly anticipated movie based on Britney Spears’ 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me,  is in danger of ending before production even begins — because the film’s subject has become a challenge for the team behind it!

In 2024, Variety reported that Universal Pictures had tapped Wicked director Jon M. Chu and producer Marc Platt to oversee the biopic — and Spears, 43, herself said she was “excited” to work on a “secret project” with Platt in a post shared on X.

At the time, “Britney banked a lot of control in her initial deal and she was able to do that because multiple companies were chasing her for the rights to her story,” explains the source.

However, Spears’ involvement has since become challenging for Universal Pictures. “Britney’s inexperience with screenwriters, script development and modern filmmaking in general is an obstacle in the process,” explains the source. “At some point you do have to step back and let the professionals do their job.”

One point of contention seems to be how far to dive into the “Toxic” singer’s tumultuous life, which includes losing custody of her sons — she shares Sean, 19, and Jayden, 18, with ex Kevin Federline — and being embroiled in a controversial 13-year conservatorship.

“Britney’s had some crazy ups and downs in the last 25 years, and Universal understands that there’s no one perfect way to tell her story,” explains the source. “You don’t want to white-wash the drama in her life, but will her fans, or Britney herself even, be open to a ‘warts-and-all’ approach to her story?”

Now, “They’re trying to figure that out, but Universal has shown they are willing to walk away from a problematic development process — which is exactly what they did with Madonna‘s proposed biopic,” says the source, pointing to the Universal Pictures flick featuring Julia Garner portraying the “Like a Virgin” singer that was put on ice in 2023.

“If Universal loses interest or doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Britney on the final story, she’ll be right back at square one and have wasted months and months of time — just like Madonna did!” adds the source.