Will Sharpe of HBO’s “White Lotus” is returning to the chair as director.
Sharpe will direct the upcoming movie adaptation of Michelle Zauner’s 2021 memoir, “Crying In H Mart.” Sharpe stated in a Monday statement to NBC News that he was “excited” to “be back on the other end of the camera.
Sharpe stated in a statement that she was a big fan of Michelle’s music, and that ‘Crying In H Mart’ is a touching, relatable piece of light-handed honesty.
In 2021, it was announced that the memoir would be adapted. It focuses heavily on Zauner and her Korean immigrant mom, Chongmi. They are battling with Chongmi’s terminal cancer diagnosis. In a statement to NBC News, Zauner said she was relieved to have Sharpe added to the project.
Zauner stated that it was difficult to find someone who could trust me with the telling of such a personal story. “Someone who could respect my mother’s character, honor the darkest days in grief, and still make the coming-of-age of an artsy half-Korean outsider in a small Pacific Northwest town seem real and cool.”
Sharpe is most well-known for his role in the HBO drama as Ethan, a tech entrepreneur. He has also directed “Flowers,” a British black comedy.
“I believe his sensibility, as an actor and a director, and his personal experience, having grown-up between two cultures will be tremendous assets,” Zauner stated, referring to Sharpe’s multiracial Japanese heritage.
Zauner’s memoir expands on her 2018 New Yorker essay. It touches on sensitive topics such as cultural tensions in her family and the grief that followed the death of her mother. She said that much of her grieving process involved “lamenting having a difficult relationship” with mother.
She said, “I wasn’t a perfect mom, either.” “But, you see, I don’t think you would find any mother/daughter relationship that’s really like that.”
