Britney's Just a Woman, But She Breaks Just Like a Little Girl

The movie is about three teenage girls who take a trip to Los Angeles to rekindle their friendship and do some soulsearching. Britney plays Lucy, a straight-A student rebelling against her father (played by Dan Aykroyd). "On her trip, she falls in love with this guy and goes through a wild stage," Britney rhapsodizes. "But then she comes back to herself and realizes what she wants to do."

Britney had received offers from other film companies, but Weiss says Jive wanted to "put [its] money where [its] mouth was" and decided to finance Not a Girl on its own. The film's soundtrack will feature a ballad called "Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," which will also appear on Britney's album. Weiss predicts the song, written by Martin, Rami and Dido, will become a megahit on par with Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" or Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."

Britney, meanwhile, just hopes she doesn't look goofy on the big screen. "I watched it for the first time the other day," she bubbles. "And I was like, `Oh, my gaaahd.' It was weird! I saw myself freak and cry on a big screen and I was like, `Oh, gosh.' But then I got so wrapped up in the movie that I saw myself as a character and not as myself. In a lot of ways she's similar to me — she's very to herself and writes in her journal a lot. But when I watched it, I was like, `She's kind of mean sometimes. And boring.' I was like, Am I like that in real life? Ew!'"

There are at least two topics Britney does not enjoy being asked about: her boyfriend and her wardrobe. She reflexively tenses up when either subject is mentioned, and, though she continues to be polite and attentive, she becomes visibly nervous and guarded. It's not that she doesn't have opinions to offer or feelings to reveal; rather, she seems to worry that she'll be misunderstood or that she won't be able to articulate her point quite the way she intends to.

Does it bother you that people are fascinated by your relationship with Justin?

When people get too personal, it bothers me. But I'm not ashamed at all to say that I love him from the bottom of my heart. As far as to love is concerned, with him, too much is not enough. He's everything.

How is love different for you now than when you were younger?

It kind of feels the same with him. Like, it's so weird; we've been going out for two years, and I still feel the same. [Laughs] Oh! I don't want to say this! I'm so embarrassed! But, like, I still want to look cute, and I get nervous.

Swoony?

Yes!

Butterflies?

Yes! With him, it's still the same as I felt two years ago. But it is a deeper love now than when I was younger. Like, we've gone through so much together and we've known each other since we were twelve years old. We know each other inside and out.