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She took the music world by storm as Japanese Breakfast, and then the book world with her 2021 memoir, Crying in H Mart. Next, Michelle Zauner was poised to tackle Hollywood with a film adaptation of her bestseller. But after the exciting announcement in 2023, plans for the film have remained up in the air. Will the beloved book ever make its way to the screen? Here’s what we know so far.
What’s the current status of the Crying in H Mart film?
Zauner revealed to Ssense in January that production is “on pause” following the writers and actors strikes’ and the director, Will Sharpe, exiting the project. And given Japanese Breakfast is releasing a new album on March 21, 2025, Zauner’s focus right now is elsewhere. But she hasn’t lost hope.
“Well, it’s on pause,” she told Ssense of the adaptation. “There were issues with the Hollywood strikes, and the director stepped away from the project. I spent a year working on the screenplay, which was a tough but rewarding process. I still have faith it will get made someday, but it’s not happening anytime soon. Right now, I’m focusing on other creative projects, so the film will have to wait.”
What is the film about?
Zauner wrote the script based on her memoir, which largely focuses on her relationship with her mother, who died of cancer in 2014, and her Korean roots.
MGM’s logline for the project, per Variety, is: “Crying in H Mart is a coming-of-age story about a half-Korean daughter who returns to small town Oregon to care for her Korean mother. Critical and smothering Chong-mi and creative and independent Michelle struggle to understand each other across a cultural fault line, only learning to see and accept one another through the formative power of music and the vibrant flavors of Korean cooking.”
Who’s in the cast?
There’s been no casting news yet, though Sharpe (you know him as Ethan in White Lotus season 2), was announced to direct in 2023. But Zauner revealed in January that he’s no longer attached to the film.
While speaking to ELLE.com in 2022, Zauner mused about her dream cast. “Kim Hee-sun for the role of my mother’s friend, Kye. Apart from that, I don’t really have anyone specific in mind,” she said. “The biggest thing for me is I’d really like to see Korean actors with real accents. Korean Americans that were raised in the U.S. [are] too jarring for me. So, similar to Minari, I’d love to get more South Korean actresses involved in this project.”
Here’s to hoping the film picks up again soon.
This story will be updated.