Score another one for streaming services! With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on the entire film industry, especially theatrical distribution, studios are now pivoting and trying to figure out how to salvage the year as best as they can. We’ve seen folks like Paramount send “The Lovebirds” to Netflix instead of debuting in theaters this month. Disney and STX have done the same with “Artemis Fowl” and “My Spy,” respectively. Now, it appears that Sony is doing the same thing with a film that wasn’t even on the release calendar yet, Seth Rogen’s “An American Pickle.”
Announced back in 2018, “An American Pickle” has been sent to HBO Max from Sony, according to THR. The move comes as Sony attempts to figure out what to do with the rest of 2020, deciding that a straight-to-streaming deal for Rogen’s new film works out best.
“An American Pickle” tells the story of Herschel Greenbaum, a man that falls into a vat of brine back in the 1920s, pickling himself for 100 years. He is revived in the modern day where he attempts to acclimate to the new century with the help of his great-grandson, a mild-mannered computer programmer. Both roles will be played by Rogen.
“We worked very hard and put as much of ourselves in this story as possible,” Rogen said. “We’re very proud of the end result and we can’t wait for people to get to see it.”
“HBO Max is in the market for motion pictures that stand out,” said HBO Max executive Kevin Reilly. “And ‘An American Pickle’ does stand out, with Seth in this wonderfully original, funny and heartfelt film that we look forward to debuting this summer.”
There’s no official release date for “An American Pickle,” outside of the tease of “this summer.” The report claims that Sony was originally eyeing a fall release date in theaters, before deciding to ship it off to HBO Max. The film is directed by Brandon Trost, a longtime collaborator of Rogen’s, who was the cinematographer on films such as “The Interview,” “This is the End,” and “Neighbors.”