May 23, 2023
The upcoming film adaptation of "Crying In H Mart," the best-selling memoir from Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner, is in need of an actress to play the leading role.
Zauner, who wrote the screenplay for the movie, posted an open casting call for an 18- to 25-year-old Korean American woman to play her in the movie. "Who will play Ms. Breakfast?" Zauner asked.
"Crying in H Mart," published by Knopf in 2021, is an expansion of Zauner's 2018 essay of the same name, published by The New Yorker. The book examines her childhood in the mostly white community of Eugene, Oregon, as well as the beginnings of her music career and the grief she experienced after her mother's death from pancreatic cancer in 2014, when Zauner was 25. She began shopping regularly at the Korean American supermarket chain H Mart and cooking traditional meals to stay connected to her mom.
The movie will feature Zauner's early years in Seoul, South Korea and Eugene. Zauner later moved to the Philadelphia area to attend Bryn Mawr College. Her music career took shape in Philly as she played in the emo band Little Big League and began recording and releasing her own songs under the name Japanese Breakfast, among other projects.
During that time, Zauner worked the coat check at Union Transfer. A sign was placed there in her honor after Japanese Breakfast played a string of shows at the venue last summer. Zauner lived in Philly until the beginning of 2020, when she relocated to New York.
"Crying in H Mart," produced by Orion Pictures, will be directed by "The White Lotus" star Will Sharpe. The movie's soundtrack will feature original music from Japanese Breakfast. The band's last release was the critically acclaimed "Jubilee," which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
A release date for "Crying in H Mart" has not yet been set. People interested in the leading role can send a "creative video introduction" to hmartopencallcasting@gmail.com.
