HBO Max has acquired worldwide rights to the Seth Rogen comedy “An American Pickle,” which will be released under the platform’s Warner Max label this year.
HBO Max bought the film from Sony Pictures so it wouldn’t be delayed in light of theater closures. It will now reach audiences via the new streaming platform. Most North American cinemas are not expected to open until late summer, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rogen plays dual leading roles in an adaptation of the 2013 New Yorker series “Sell Out” by Simon Rich, who also wrote the script. “An American Pickle” is directed by Brandon Trost, the cinematographer from Rogen’s previous films (“This Is the End,” “Neighbors,” “The Interview”). Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver are producers for Point Grey. The executive producers are Rich, Point Grey’s Alex McAtee and Ted Gidlow.
Rogen stars as Herschel Greenbaum, a struggling laborer who immigrates to America in 1920 with dreams of building a better life for his beloved family. One day, while working at his factory job, he falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years. The brine preserves him perfectly and when he emerges in present-day Brooklyn, he finds he hasn’t aged a day. When he seeks out his family, he is troubled to learn that his only surviving relative is his great grandson (also played by Rogen), a mild-mannered computer coder.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with HBO Max to release this film,” Rogen said. “We worked very hard and put as much of ourselves in this story as possible. We’re very proud of the end result and we can’t wait for people to get to see it.”
Rogen, Point Grey, Rich and Trost are all repped by UTA.