HBO Max has picked up the worldwide rights to Seth Rogen’s comedy feature “An American Pickle” which hails from Sony Pictures and is now set to be released this summer on the service under the ‘Warner Max’ label.
An adaptation of the 2013 New Yorker novella “Sell Out” by Simon Rich, who adapted the script, Rogen will play dual roles in the story of 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 that he hasn’t aged a day. But when he seeks out his family, he is troubled to learn that his only surviving relative is his great-grandson, Ben Greenbaum (also Rogen), a mild-mannered computer coder whom Herschel can’t even begin to understand.
Brandon Trost will direct. Rogen says: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with HBO Max to release this film. 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.”
The service has also “Beautiful Boy” scribe and “13 Reasons Why” creator Nic Sheff’s feature pitch “Catching Out” with Brian Yorkey and Brad Weston producing. The drama serves as “an exploration of a youth subculture” but further specifics are under wraps.
Source: Deadline
