Boston Newscaster Alaina Pinto Fired for 'Hubie Halloween' Cameo

Hubie Halloween is one of the most harmless movies ever created. It's appropriately dumb and funny and there are some covertly sweet moments sprinkled in advocating a kinder, gentler, and more understanding existence. Or so we thought. Because this year is awful and spooky in unpredictable ways, today we learn that a brief cameo has cost another journalist their job.

Alaina Pinto, formerly a morning and noon anchor at 7News WHDH in Boston, tweeted that her brief appearance in the Adam Sandler flick was a violation of her contract. A violation that ultimately led to her termination.

This is extremely unfortunate. Hubie Halloween is replete with several dozen cameos. Everyone from Dan Patrick to Ben Stiller to Colin Quinn to Sandler's daughters show up. Pinto was so far down the call sheet that she didn't even get an IMDB picture. Sitting here a week after watching, I could not tell you which scene or scenes featured a news anchor. I think it's toward the end but it is entirely inconsequential to the plot. Then again, I wasn't paying rapt attention to the proceedings because you don't have to.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, the Harley Quinn bit. Good bit. Important bit.

Also, it's Hubie Freaking Halloween. Sandler is doing the Sandler thing. It's a movie about Canteen Boy growing up and getting a bike. If there is a person in the actual real world who would tune into the real news and take it less seriously because of a brief Pinto appearance in a straight-to-Netflix joint, there may be some deeper issues at play.

Anyway, this sucks. Here's hoping Pinto lands on her feet quickly. Perhaps this leads to more prominent and recurring roles in the Happy Madison universe. You know what they say: when one door close-ily dozilees, another openen-ily-dopely-dooooos.