Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner Says Her Film Went ‘Down the Drain’ After Director Pulled Out

Don’t expect to see the anticipated movie adaptation of Michelle Zauner‘s Crying in H Mart anytime soon. After revealing that the film was put “on pause” earlier this year, the Japanese Breakfast star shared in a new interview on Tuesday that the plans for the movie ultimately went awry after Will Sharpe pulled out of directing.

“I was devastated when Will left. I had a very big meltdown in Hamburg, Germany, when he called and let me know, because it was a year of my life that felt completely down the drain,” Zauner told Vulture. “But I think, if anything, perspective makes the best work. So if I’ve been away from the screenplay for years, when I open it back up again, I think it’s only going to get better from there. I think someday I would like to direct it.”

Zauner explained that she was waiting for the film to get green-lit right before the writers’ strike and that that may have led Sharpe to pull out of the project since he probably thought “this movie wasn’t going to get made.”

“I don’t feel ready [to direct]. I’m still working with my producers about a long-term plan to see that to fruition, but I’d rather it not be a movie than a bad movie,” Zauner said. “So I don’t want to take it on until it’s something that I feel ready to do. I have amazing producers, and I would love to make a movie with them. But I think I need to learn how.”

Zauner — who is now promoting her new album For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) out March 21 — described  Crying in H Mart‘s situation as a “worst-case scenario for a first feature” and that she struggled with having so much feedback on a story that was so personal.

“The only thing that made me comfortable with that was that I was trying to be honest and fair to them,” she said. “I would love to have the opportunity to do it again with something that’s a little bit less touchy for me, obviously, because I think that so much of making a film is you have to listen to a lot of people, and that can be a really positive collaborative experience.

“I was honestly very defensive and guarded because it’s an extremely difficult, personal story,” she added. “I come from two mediums where I’ve been given so much freedom. With music, I’ve always been on an indie label, and they’ve never told me what to do in terms of the creative work; I’ve never been given notes.”

From Rolling Stone US.