New
York
(ANI):
Britney
Spears" struggle
with
drug
addiction
was
the
inspiration
behind
Gwyneth
Paltrow"s
washed-up
alcoholic
singer
character
in
Country
Strong.
Writer
and
director
Shana
Feste
revealed
during
a
screening
of
the
film
in
Los
Angeles
that
she
used
the
29-year-old
pop
star"s
fall
from
grace
as
a
jumping
off
point
for
the
film.
“That"s
where
this
movie
came
from.
I
mean,
I
was
seeing
what
was
happening
in
the
media
to
Britney
Spears," the
New
York
Daily
News
quoted
her
from
the
Los
Angeles
Times.
In
the
movie,
Paltrow,
38,
is
playing
Kelly
Canter,
a
once-shining
country
performer
who
attempts
to
resurrect
her
career
after
a
stint
in
rehab
for
substance
abuse.
Seven
years
after
becoming
a
teen
pop
idol
in
the
2000s,
Spears
had
a
highly
publicized
meltdown
when
she
followed
up
a
brief
stint
in
drug
rehab
by
shaving
her
head
and
later
attacking
a
car
with
an
umbrella.
The
next
year
she
was
put
under
involuntary
psychiatric
hold
and
lost
custody
of
her
kids.
Feste,
who
finished
her
screenplay
around
the
death
of
Michael
Jackson,
also
noted
that
the
king
of
pop"s
relationship
with
the
press
also
inspired
her.
“I
think
it"s
tragic
how
we
treat
people
who
give
us
so
much,
and
we
love
to
see
them
knocked
down
to
build
them
back
up
again,
to
knock
them
down
again.
It"s
a
weird
fascination,"
she
concluded.