Seth Rogen's 'An American Pickle' to premiere on HBO Max

Actor Seth Rogen's upcoming movie "An American Pickle" has been picked up by WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max.

The movie was acquired from Sony Pictures in order to ensure that its release is not affected by widespread and indefinite theatre closures in the US owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The film, based on Simon Rich's 2013 novella of the same name, has been directed by Brandon Trost, who is best known for his work as a cinematographer on Rogen's movies "This is the End", "Neighbors" and "The Interview".

"An American Pickle" stars Rogen as Herschel Greenbaum, a struggling labourer 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 played by Rogen), a mild-mannered computer coder whom Herschel can't even begin to understand.

"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 38-year-old actor said in a statement, posted on WarnerMedia's website.

Rich has adapted the screenplay for the film and he is also serving as executive producer alongside Alex McAtee and Ted Gidlow.

Rogen produces along with Evan Goldberg and James Weaver from their banner Point Grey.