Whatever happened to...“Stalking Britney: Under Siege With Britney Spears” by author Ian Halperin?

[Steel Magnolia]

WRITER SPINS BRIT’S INNER CIRCLE

July 1, 2008 | 7:41am

"REACHING editors as we speak by way of agent William Gladstone is “Stalking Britney: Under Siege With Britney Spears.” Author’s Ian Halperin. Journalist, documentarian, book writer.

In the chaos outside Britney’s gated Hollywood home – helicopters, wall-to-wall paparazzi hoping for a $200,000 “money shot” – he claims he got to know Brit’s inner circle, who provided perspective on her self-destruction. A former bodyguard knew scenes of nudity, **** use, issues involving her children. There’s the tale of her Svengali-like manager, Osama Lutfi, who, it’s alleged, controlled her, turned her against her parents, and is considered an enabler. There is talk of abusive behavior and a legal restraining order. There are LA court records with mama Lynne Spears hurling accusations in a laundry list of misdoings.

This book also opens the paparazzi phenomenon. These professional stalkers who’ve made stars’ lives hell, allowing them no privacy, turning them into prisoners of their own fame. It is said members of street gangs treat the trade in Brit photos as a “criminal racket.” One photographer quit his agency, claiming, “The Britney story is no longer about Britney. It’s the media circus surrounding her. It’s not journalism. Sooner or later, someone’s going to get killed. Possibly Britney herself.”

But the author explores a side the Hollywood establishment and mainstream media don’t acknowledge. For instance, how paparazzi always know where Britney will be on a given evening and how come a huge media horde awaits when she makes an unscheduled appearance at some club? Explains one: “She calls and tells us. She craves attention.” Celebrity photo agencies confirm they receive calls alerting them to her plans for the evening. “She’s not the only one,” another shooter tells Halperin. “Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Courtney Love, plenty of others, desperate to remain in the spotlight, do the same thing. They all have our cell numbers. Hollywood publicists earn their salary ringing us up and telling us where their client will be that night. Without them, we’d be out of business.”

Britney’s paparazzi closeness was underscored last year when she began a romance with one of them. Adnan Ghalib reveals what he claims went on that night when Spears’ parents engineered what he calls a coup, forcing him out of her life and committing her to an institution, followed by her father taking legal control over her affairs.

Among the other highlights:

Britney’s inner circle talks about the subject of suicide.

A former dealer, delivering to some of Hollywood’s most powerful, talks about what landed her in rehab.

A friend talks about considering a hit man during her disastrous Kevin Federline years.

An investment adviser once involved with her financial affairs says Britney’s fortune has been siphoned through questionable transactions and calls her entourage “parasitic leeches intent on sucking her dry.”

Due to certain musical handlers’ demands, Britney suffered some voice injury. Industry people allege she has at times lip-synched in concert, and record producers are known to work “magic” in the studio.

Much of his investigation’s on video, and Halperin promises highlights available via the Internet in America’s first YouTube-compatible book."

Source: https://pagesix.com/2008/07/01/writer-spins-brits-inner-circle/

Whatever happened to this book?

Is it possible that Team CON purchased the manuscript before it could be released? 

[Goten21]

wtf every single line in the OP is intruiging

[DuranDuran]

I dunno, but it's pagesix, so it should be taken with a grain of salt.

And about her calling the paparazzi, here is a recent interview with one of them, which debunked it:

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/britney-spears-paparazzi-interview

 

[Steel Magnolia]

11 hours ago, DuranDuran said:

I dunno, but it's pagesix, so it should be taken with a grain of salt.

And about her calling the paparazzi, here is a recent interview with one of them, which debunked it:

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/britney-spears-paparazzi-interview

 

I remember Nick Stern quitting at the time it was all going on!

I'm quite sure Adnan actually did participate in this book.

Plus, there was quite a bit of talk about it back in 2008, so I do believe it was real.

"Halperin spent 18 months as an undercover paparazzi getting close to the pop singer and her inner circle of managers and friends, and now plans to release a book full of his findings."

At the time, I was particularly interested in stuff like this:

"In his forthcoming book Stalking Britney: Under Siege with Britney Spears, he attacks Lynne - who recently defended herself against accusations of being a pushy stage mother in her own book about her life raising Britney, entitled Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. Halperin says, "Lynne is a spin doctor and a borderline manic-depressive. She wants to come across as very innocent, but she only rushed to Britney's side when Britney had her emotional breakdown because there was a big rush for Britney's fortune."

Source: https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/musicnews/Britney+Spears-57340.html

[MonaLisa613]

Reading that description, it’s a good thing that book never happened, sounds very controversial, Britney was already seen in a very bad light, this book would of been the last thing she needed.