We’re neck-deep in Quibis and Peacocks and Pluses, but let’s not forget that HBO Max still hasn’t launched (actually, Peacock hasn’t officially launched either). Today, the upcoming streaming service added to its future offerings by picking up An American Pickle, a new movie adapted from Simon Rich’s New Yorker series Sell Out that will be directed by Brandon Trost and starring Seth Rogen—in two roles! Trost was the cinematographer on previous Rogen movies like Neighbors and This Is The End, so hopefully that will translate to good results when directing Rogen.
As for An American Pickle, it’s about a man named Herschel Greenbaum who immigrates to America in the 1920s and falls into a vat of pickles. Naturally, he remains perfectly preserved in brine for 100 years and emerges in present day Brooklyn having not aged at all. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that his only surviving relative is a “mild-mannered computer coder” who he “can’t even begin to understand.” But wait, there’s a twist: Both Greenbaums will be played by Seth Rogen, meaning he’ll play a regular modern guy and a time-displaced pickle briner from the ‘20s. Fun! And also not really how science works, but whatever!
A press release about the movie explains that HBO Max picked it up so that Sony Pictures wouldn’t have to delay it at all because of the coronavirus, and it’ll now be available to stream at some point this year.