“The White Lotus” breakout star Will Sharpe is getting back behind the camera for the feature film adaptation of Michelle Zauner’s 2021 memoir “Crying in H Mart” at MGM’s Orion Pictures.
Per a synopsis from MGM, “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. With humor and heart, CRYING IN H MART tells the story of mothers and daughters and people who love to eat.”
“There were lots of things that resonated with me as somebody who is half-Japanese, half-British, spent my childhood in Tokyo,” Sharpe told People, which the news as an exclusive on Monday. “Some of the descriptions of being jet-lagged in your family’s kitchen felt very familiar to me.”
While Sharpe may be best known in the public eye for his breakout work on HBO and Mike White’s “The White Lotus,” “Crying in H Mart” hardly marks the multihyphenates behind-the-camera debut. Previous credits include HBO’s Olivia Colman-starring miniseries “Landscapers” as co-writer and director; “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy which he also co-wrote and directed; feature film “Flowers,” in which he starred opposite Colman, wrote and directed; and more.
“Crying in H Mart” writer Zauner – also known as the frontwoman for Japanese Breakfast – is adapting her memoir for the screen and will play an additional role in the film’s music. Stacey Sher is producing with Jason Kim.
Sharpe is repped by UTA, Independent Talent Group and Artists Rights Group.
People first reported the news.
