[29th BIFF] ”The Solitary Gourmet” author Matsushige Yutaka, ”I sent a letter of offer to director Bong JUNHO to work on the film adaptation”

Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige has revealed that he has offered director Bong Junho the opportunity to direct a film.
The press conference for "The Solitary Gourmet" was held on the morning of the 3rd at the preview on the 11th floor of the Film Industry Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan.
The event was held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Yutaka Matsushige, the director and actor of the film "The Solitary Gourmet" attended the event. Yutaka Matsushige said, "The TV series has been running for 12 years, but the Japanese TV industry is currently
"It's not a good environment," he said, "I feel that there is a danger of talent flowing to other industries, and staff are quitting. I thought that the TV series itself should be stimulating. So I decided to make a movie.
"I sent a letter to director Bong JUNHO. There are many people in Korea who know about 'The Solitary Gourmet,' so I asked him if he would be okay with working with me. It was a reckless attempt.
"I was hoping to make it together, but unfortunately our schedules didn't match up and we couldn't work together," he said. "He said it would be difficult, but he hopes it will be completed. I'm glad Director Bong said he has high expectations for it.
So I thought I had to make it into a movie," he said. Matsushige Yutaka also said, "If another Japanese director were to do it, I thought it would be interesting if I could take on leadership roles and help the film staff grow.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to do it," he confessed. Since its first broadcast in January 2012, "The Solitary Gourmet" has become an unusually hot topic for a late-night TV series, and has continued as a series until season 10.
This is the first film adaptation of the novel "The Solitary Gourmet." It is scheduled to be released in Korea in March next year.