There Will Be a Screen Adaptation Based On Britney Spears’ Memoir—and Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Reese Witherspoon Are Apparently Fighting For the Rights to It

Despite a battle between the crème de la crème, one A-list producer passed on the opportunity.

Collage of Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Reese Witherspoon
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Britney Spears’ bombshell memoir, The Woman in Me, has only been on shelves for three weeks, but it has broken a slew of records—and a screen adaptation is coming, Page Six reports. The rights to the tell-all are currently being fought over by the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, who would produce the movie or television series, the outlet reports.

Interestingly, Page Six reports that Shonda Rhimes—who wrote Spears’ 2002 movie Crossroads—doesn’t have her name in the hat for the book’s rights. “Shondaland is not pursuing this project,” a spokesperson for the company said. 

Shonda Rhimes at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars party

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As the book is just three weeks post-release, the planned adaptation is still in its very early stages, but interest continues to mount: “It’s only beginning to take shape,” a source said.

Page Six reports that Spears apparently rescheduled a recent meeting with an unnamed top producer “at the last minute” because she “didn’t feel up to it,” and that she is “overwhelmed by the response” and the “media frenzy surrounding it.” Her team is “hold[ing] off on making any major decisions about where the rights end up until she has time to catch her breath,” they said.

Spears is also apparently in talks for a documentary in which she will participate—to the tune of $40 million.

Britney Spears

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you’re among the three people who haven’t yet read The Woman in Me (or its rampant coverage in the media), Spears reveals details about her three-year relationship with Justin Timberlake (including terminating a pregnancy), her 13-year conservatorship, her rise to fame, relationships and marriages, and more. It topped The New York Times’ bestseller list, selling 1.1 million copies in the U.S. in its first week alone.

Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.