Appearing In Adam Sandler’s Movie Got This Woman Fired From Her Day Job
Thanks to a cameo in Adam Sandler's latest Netflix film, Hubie Halloween, a local Boston news anchor has lost her job.
Hubie Halloween, the latest Netflix from Adam Sandler, is a welcome, pleasant, and enjoyably stupid film that is perfect for anyone wanting some silly fun during the spooky season. Yet one woman has lost her job due to this seemingly innocuous Halloween film.
News anchor Alaina Pinto revealed through a series of tweets that she was fired from her job at WHDH Channel 7 News Boston for making a cameo in Hubie Halloween. Pinto said in her tweets, “Earlier this week I was let go from 7 News. I am posting this because I want to be open and honest with all of you Last year I participated in a cameo in the recently released Netflix movie by Adam Sandler, “Hubie Halloween.” Pinto continues, “In doing so, I mistakingly violated my contract with the station and I understand why management unfortunately chose to terminate me. I am deeply disappointed and saddened, and I hope this would not be how things evolved.” If losing your job is cool, consider her Miles Davis.
In Hubie Halloween, Pinto makes a brief appearance as an anchor for “Wake Up Boston,” who along with her other coworkers, decides to dress up as Harley Quinn. One of the other anchors is even Adam Sandler’s wife, Jackie Sandler.
Hubie Halloween filmed throughout Massachusetts, including around Salem, Lynnfield, Hamilton, and Manchester-by-the-Sea. Filming began in July 2019 and wrapped in September. According to Boston.com, Pinto joined 7News in December 2016 as a traffic reporter, and eventually became the network’s morning anchor. Pinto had previously worked for Fox Local 44 and ABC Local 22 in Burlington, Vermont, as a morning news reporter.
Hubie Halloween is the sixth film Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison Productions have made with Netflix. In 2014, Sandler signed a deal worth $250 million to make four films for the streaming giant. His first film for Netflix, The Ridiculous 6, was panned by critics, yet Netflix claimed the film had been viewed more times in 30 days than any other film in Netflix history. In 2017, Netflix renewed the deal for another four films, and earlier this year, Sandler’s contract with Netflix was extended by four more films.
The deal has been extremely profitable for both parties, with films like The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler, and The Week Of making Netflix the exclusive carrier of Adam Sandler comedies for the last few years. His 2019 film, Murder Mystery, with Jennifer Aniston, was said by Netflix to be the most popular title on Netflix that year. Sandler also put out his stand-up special 100% Fresh on the streamer, and his more dramatic work like the Noah Baumbach film, The Meyerowitz Stories, and the intense 2019 Safdie brothers film, Uncut Gems, are both available exclusively on Netflix as well.
The deal has even been beneficial for Sandler’s friends, as Happy Madison has produced two David Spade projects for Netflix so far: 2018’s Father of the Year and this year’s The Wrong Missy, which according to Netflix, is already the eighth most-watched film in Netflix’s history. Meanwhile, Sandler holds one film in the top ten most-watched Netflix, with Murder Mystery as the number five film, with 73 million viewers at the time of the report.
WHDH and Netflix have yet to comment on the firing of Pinto, but despite her firing, Pinto stays positive, saying in her tweets, “Reporting the news to you every morning was an honor and a privilege. I promise to stay in touch and keep you updated on the next chapter – the future is bright!” With a half-dozen (at least) Adam Sandler productions in the works at Netflix, maybe Sandler can make Pinto the dedicated news anchor in all of his upcoming films?
