The film`s director Shana Feste has confessed it was `Toxic` hitmaker Britney who gave her the idea for the movie, which sees Gwyneth playing a country singer trying to resurrect her career while dealing with an addiction problem.

She said: "That`s where this movie came from. I mean, I was seeing what was happening in the media to Britney Spears."

Shana completed writing the script for the movie - which also stars Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester - when Michael Jackson died in 2009 and she admits the media portrayal of his death played on her mind.

She added to the Los Angeles Times: "I finished the script when Michael Jackson passed away. 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."

Gwyneth has previously revealed she struggled with the role because she was "naked" a lot but enjoyed it nonetheless.

She said: "It was a brutal shoot. I mean, I wasn`t naked, naked, but I was semi-naked, in various stages of undress. My character has a drug and alcohol problem, so she`s struggling a lot. It was a lot of fun for me, as an artist."
sections: Celebrities