It looks like summer is the season of Seth Rogen getting’ lucky. Although the tiny comedy with a heart Knocked Up was lost in a sea of Pirates and spandex-clad superheroes, it garnered enough clout for Sony to finally put a date on the Rogen-starring Pineapple Express, produced by Judd Apatow. Expect to see the advertisements claiming to be from the creators of The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up to start airing just before Pineapple Express’s August 8, 2008 release date, reports Variety.

Quite a departure from the accidental pregnancy comedy, Pineapple Express sets its eyes on two friends who are on the run from gangsters after witnessing a drug-related murder. Don’t expect to hear any renditions of “California Dreaming” in this Express, but do expect it to be worth a look, as it’s directed by David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls, Undertow).

With its current date, the film is pitted against Hellboy 2 and the Brendan Frasier disaster in the making Journey 3-D. Given Green’s past work, George Washington in particular, he’s shaping up to be one of the most promising directors in American cinema. Odds are that Pineapple Express isn’t going to be a bombastic summer blockbuster; it’s shaping up to be something all more important.