PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The bestselling memoir by a musician with strong ties to Philadelphia is expanding to full screen. "Crying in H-Mart," by Michelle Zauner, a memoir based on the author's complicated relationship with her mother, is going Hollywood. And the Bryn Mawr graduate and leader and founder of the Philadelphia indie rock band Japanese Breakfast, is looking for someone to play the lead role.
Zauner announced the casting call on Instagram on Monday, saying, the production is looking for an "18-25 year old Korean American to play the role of Michelle in the film adaptation of the #1 NYTimes Bestseller Crying in H Mart."
"Please send a creative video introduction that includes where you're located. Submissions: Hmartopencallcasting@gmail.com."
Like the book it is based on, the movie will focus on Zauner's relationship with her mother, who died of cancer in 2014, and Zauner's identity as a Korean American and as a daughter. Much of the book takes place in Eugene, Oregon, where Zauner grew up, but showing the author at that age range, the film could include her time at Bryn Mawr College and her life in and around Philadelphia.
She worked at Xochitl in Society Hill. She met her husband and bandmate Peter Bradley at Bella Vista neighborhood karaoke bar 12 Steps Down. She worked at Union Transfer in Callowhill in the coat check — which was renamed the Michelle Zauner Coat Check in her honor in 2021 when Japanese Breakfast played five sold-out shows at the venue, the very first live shows to play there since COVID-19 had shut the world down.
Actor, director and BAFTA Award-winning writer Will Sharpe — familiar to American audiences as Ethan in season 2 of "The White Lotus" — will direct the movie, Zauner will write the screenplay, and Japanese Breakfast will provide the soundtrack.
Catch Japanese Breakfast on Sunday, May 28. They play the Adjacent Festival in Atlantic City this weekend.
