Britney Spears revealed she was "glad" to have lost the lead role in The Notebook to Rachel McAdams, prompting casting director Matthew Barry to share her audition tape with The Daily Mail. In the two-minute long video, Spears says, whilst her eyes well up with tears, "I prayed for you to die in the war, really. Well, not die. I would have felt completely horrible if you would've died. But I kinda didn't want you to be alive anymore because I couldn't bear the thought of you being with somebody else, or of us never seeing each other again. So I gotta go, okay?" Barry told The Daily Mail the pop star "wasn't just good, she was phenomenal." "It was a tough decision," he continued, reflecting on Spears' audition. "Britney blew us all away. Our jaws were on the floor. I was blown away. Absolutely blown away. She brought her A-game that day." Since the sharing of Spears' audition, people have praised her acting but ultimately agreed that it should have been McAdams that got the part. "Love Britney down and she looked adorable but Rachel McAdams was just born for the role", the top comment under the tape read: "I mean [obviously] Rachel is perfect in this role, but I'm actually really impressed with [Britney's] audition", wrote another. This sentiment was prevalent throughout the reactions to Spears' tape. "Rachel was perfect and iconic for the role. HOWEVER... seeing this I now understand why Britney was considered for the role", one user shared. It seems Spears agrees that role should have gone to McAdams, writing in her upcoming memoir The Woman in Me "Even though it would have been fun to reconnect with Ryan Gosling after our time on The Mickey Mouse Club, I'm glad I didn't do it," she writes. "If I had, instead of working on my album 'In the Zone' I'd have been acting like a 1940s heiress day and night." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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England have found themselves on the receiving end of a spying controversy after a training session ahead of their World Cup semi-final against Australia was photographed from a helicopter. The Australian Daily Telegraph sent up the aircraft to capture images from the Lionesses’ behind-closed-doors session at their training base as they finalised plans for Wednesday’s last-four clash with the co-hosts in Sydney. Published under the headline “Eleven Poms against a nation: Welcome to the jungle, Lionesses”, the pictures show boss Sarina Wiegman and her staff putting the players through their paces ahead of the eagerly-anticipated contest. The newspaper wrote: “If England’s Lionesses thought they would happily fly into the World Cup semi-final under the radar they were in for a rude shock. “We’ve sent the chopper up to see how the old enemy are preparing…Welcome to the jungle, Lionesses, we’ve got fun and games.” It added: “It might not be in the spirit of football, but after last month’s men’s Ashes cricket series we will let the moral arbiters England pass judgment on what is and isn’t acceptable in the world of sport.” The Football Association has declined to comment on the incident. The European champions are assured of a hostile welcome at a sold-out Stadium Australia as they attempt to end the Matildas’ dream of World Cup glory on home soil. Their exploits have galvanised a nation which revels in its sporting rivalry with England and is still in celebratory mood having already retained the Ashes and won the Netball World Cup at the expense the old enemy this summer. Wiegman and her players have brushed aside that element of the fixture, although back at home, memories of Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the second Test at Lord’s, which prompted booing and chants of ‘Same old Aussies, always cheating’ throughout the remainder of the series, are still fresh in the collective mind. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Fabinho has completed his move from Liverpool to Al-Ittihad, the Saudi Pro League club have confirmed. The Brazilian becomes the second Liverpool player to move to Saudi Arabia following Jordan Henderson’s switch to Al-Ettifaq. In a lengthy farewell message posted on social media, Fabinho wrote: “Today I leave my home. “It’s been five years wearing this jersey and always with the greatest honour and happiness possible.” Fabinho is also the latest big name to join Al-Ittihad, following the likes of former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema and ex-Chelsea and Leicester man N’Golo Kante. The 29-year-old joined Liverpool from Monaco in 2018 and enjoyed a glittering career on Merseyside, winning the Champions League and Premier League titles, plus the FA Cup and the Club World Cup. He added: “Thanks to Liverpool, I reached my highest level and played a World Cup. Thanks to Liverpool, I fulfilled my dream of walking into a stadium with my son in my arms. “Thanks to Liverpool, I played in the best stadium in the world, with the best atmosphere in the world, which is Anfield. “Thanks to Liverpool, I lived the biggest match of my life, the comeback against Barcelona, ​​which was only possible thanks to Anfield. That moment will always be in my memory. “I love this club. Thank you, Reds, for everything we’ve experienced together. You will never walk alone.”

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