Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Audio interview with TMNT cast

Here is an interesting audio interview by Ninja Pizza with the cast of Nickelodeon's upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, recording during the San Diego Comic Con. Audio is a little low at times, so listen closely!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sean on "About Last Night…" Monday

Sean will be a guest on "About Last Night…" a sister show to Vox Populi on Toadhopnetwork.com, Monday, July 30, 2012, 3-4pm PT. Be sure to give it a listen/watch!

"Comedians Brad Williams and Adam Ray share crazy stories from their lives on the road. From sex, to sports, to booze, when a dwarf and a Jew come together the results are unpredictable but always entertaining."

Update: The episode can be watched or downloaded here. Well worth listening to Sean's story of his one and only stand-up comedy experience!!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Alphas' Laura Mennell on Sean's upcoming appearance

Lord of the Rings vet Sean Astin’s two-episode arc doesn’t arrive until October, but according to Laura Mennell, it will be worth the wait. In fact, his Alpha is among her favorite newbies of the season. “Sean has a really cool character, one who has the ability to be able to retain the memories of other people,” Nina’s portrayer shares. “When I started reading that script, I was like, ‘Oh wow!’ And he’s such a phenomenal actor, so… it’ll be exciting to see what he does.”

Source

Sean's episodes, "If Memory Serves" and "Need to Know" are scheduled to air October 8 and 15, 2012, 10pm on SyFy Channel.

Sean Astin: A Work of Art: Behind the Scenes of Christine

A behind the scenes glimpse of Sean's character in the web series "Christine."



Sean's episode here.

See all episodes here.

Watch Sean Astin in "Christine"

"Christine" is a 12-part web series starring America Ferrera as a woman at a speed dating event. With each episode and each date, we learn a little more about her, and she about herself. In this episode, Sean stars as Art who talks about the nature of marriage and hang gliding.

Episode 6 of 12: Art



See Behind the Scenes: Sean Astin: A Work of Art here.

See all episodes here.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Ferrets and elephants and bears, oh my!

Bright and early the Sunday morning of Fandom Fest in Louisville, Sean Astin was invited for a unique behind the scenes tour of the Louisville Zoo, specifically to see the endangered black-footed ferret breeding facility, one of a handful in the country.

On arriving at the Zoo, we were met by ferret keeper Guy Graves, who explained a little about the rare animals in his charge.

Black-footed ferrets, once thought extinct, were rediscovered in 1981, but by 1987, there were only 18 animals left. Thanks to a successful captive-breeding and reintroduction program, numbers have climbed to around 1300, and they are slowly being returned to their native prairie habitat. Read more about black-footed ferrets here.

Because of the ferrets' susceptibility to disease, staff and visitors must shower and change into scrubs and masks before entering the ferret room!

This ferret was as curious about Sean as he was about the ferret!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Sean at Dallas Fan Days!

Sean continues his busy convention circuit this year with an appearance at the Dallas Fan Days October 19-21, 2012 at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, TX.


Stay tuned! October is going to be a busy month! ;-)

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Sean at Carlsbad Lagoon Day

Sean Astin participated in the Lagoon Day events in Carlsbad, CA, Sunday, including a 5K run to the Auga Hedionda Lagoon Center to help raise awareness for the areas lagoons.

"This is a worthy cause to support," Sean said.

Also participating in the race was Chris Knight who played Peter Brady in "The Brady Bunch."

See full North County Times article here. Also, Sean's race report will be posted on run3rd.blogspot.com in the next few days.

Sean meets Lincoln, a bearded lizard at the Auga Hedionda Lagoon Center.
Photo by Hayne Palmour, nctimes.com

Sean also met up with Nick Caster, who was an extra in "Rudy."
Photo from Nick Caster's Facebook.

Sean in 2 Alphas episodes

Sean will be in two episodes of the SyFy series Alphas, whose 2nd season premieres Monday night at 8pm ET. Sean portrays Mitchell, an alpha who can access and store people's memories. "If Memory Serves" is scheduled to air October 8, 2012 and "Need to Know" on October 15. Source

Warren Christie, Azita Ghanizada, Erin Way, Malik Yoba, Sean Astin, David Strathaim, Laura Mennell
Photo posted on Azita's Facebook page

Sean to be in web episode of "Christine"

America Ferrera as Christine and Sean as Art
Sean Astin will be on an episode of the web series "Christine," about a woman (America Ferrara) meeting ten men at a speed dating event, and in the process, learning about herself. New episodes are posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with Sean's episode, number 6, scheduled for Friday, July 27, 2012.

You can watch episode 1 of Christine here with links to subsequent episodes, or see the full playlist with behind the scenes videos here.

Here's one of the behind the scenes videos with glimpses of Sean.



Thursday, July 19, 2012

More Sean videos from San Diego Comic Con!

First up, a brief interview at the Profiles in History booth where Sean talks about his assorted Comic Con activities, his political webcast Vox Populi and #Run3rd.



Also, the full video from the Alphas panel at Comic Con is now available. Sean is introduced at about 27:10 and talks about his character Mitchell, and at about 44:30 producer Bruce Miller and Sean discuss the downsides of Mitchell's abilities.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Sean Astin on Alphas panel

A short clip of Sean on the Alphas panel at San Diego Comic Con last week, describing his character on the show.



Source

Behind the scenes at Alphas

In an unguarded moment behind the scenes on the set of the SyFy series "Alphas," both series regular Warren Christie and guest star Sean Astin are caught playing with their iPhones!

Photo by new series regular Erin Way (@erinjoway)

Sean to run 3.5mi race to preserve Lagoon

Sean will be running in the 3.5 mile Carlsbad Lagoon Day Run/Walk to promote the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation on Sunday, July 22.

Christopher Knight (Peter Brady of "The Brady Bunch") is a big supporter of the Foundation, and will also be taking part.

Yet another Sean & Jason interview!

This one is from The Hollywood Reporter.



Watch here if not viewable on your device. (I hate embedded Flash!)

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Full TMNT panel video!


Jason Biggs, Rob Paulsen, Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Mae Whitman, Hoon Lee, Kevin Michael Richardson
Sean's main part begins at ~in Part 2 and continues in Part 3, but watch the whole panel—the Turtles are funny and they show great clips!







Or see video in one part on Nickelodeon's site!

Report of TMNT Panel

From a nice report by Collider on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel.
During a lively panel we were shown some brief character intros, Neili’s concept art, clips of test footage, and much more.  Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michaelangelo), Mae Whitman (April O’Neil), Hoon Lee (Splinter), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder) were all on hand to share their experiences and individual love for the property. …
Sean Astin was next in line and was asked about Raphael.  Paulsen looked to his left and slyly said, “Yea, tell me about playing Raph.”  After some back and forth, Astin joked how he really was honored to play Raph and even called up Corey Feldman to ask if he was cool.  “OK, OK, we get it. You have Corey Feldman’s number,” Paulsen joked.  Astin also mentioned that despite the feeling of having battery acid poured down his throat after long voice sessions, he loved every minute of it.  Earlier Neili had mentioned The Goonies being an inspiration because of the young four friends being so close, and Astin added that he didn’t think of The Goonies but the hobbits from Lord of the Rings films, which he was a part of.  Right before moving onto Hoon Lee, Biggs joked, “I think it’s time to admit I’ve been slipping battery acid in your drink.”
Read full article here.

Sean at Profiles in History booth

While not crashing the Alphas panel, Sean spent the day at the booth of his friend Joe Maddalena, host of Hollywood Treasure, meeting fans and signing autographs. He even did a little crashing of Joe's own interview, as seen below. :-) Sean appears at about 2:30.


See full article by Barbara Barnett here!

Photo by PACsWorld

Below are more assorted photos of Sean from yesterday.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Sean Astin & Summer Glau crash Alphas panel!

Sean Astin and Summer Glau ("Firefly") both made special unannounced appearances at the "Alphas" panel at San Diego Comic Con today.

Summer reprises her season one role as Skylar Adams, an Alpha who possesses a 200+ IQ and is an electronics mastermind, while Sean plays an Alpha named Mitchell with a bizarrely absorptive brain, allowing him to assume the memories of anyone close to him and then replay them like a tape recorder. According to comments made at the panel, Sean's character has absorbed the memories of the long-lived Stanton Parish, played by John Pyper-Ferguson.

Sean's episode, called "If Memory Serves," is currently scheduled to air October 8, 2012.

Trivia: John Pyper-Ferguson portrayed Sims in "Jeremiah," the antithesis to Sean's Mister Smith in the series.

Summer Glau and Sean Astin, posted by @nhousey02

Video interview with Sean & Jason by Sark

Sean & Jason on Spike TV, assorted pics


Jason Biggs and Sean Astin Talk TMNT
Get More: Jason Biggs and Sean Astin Talk TMNT

Sean with young actress @ChloeNoelle910 (True Blood)

Friday, July 13, 2012

Hi-res Pics from Surprise Goonies Reunion


Sgt Pepper, Sean and Jeff ;-)

Sean introduces little Turtle sister Mae to Corey.
Source

Great Turtles pic from Entertainment Weekly

Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Greg Cipes (Michaelangelo), Mae Whitman (April), Sean Astin (Raphael), Jason Biggs (Leonardo)
Source

Many, many Sean & TMNT pics!

From the Dawn of the Con party at PETCO Park, sponsored by VH1. Source


Sean Astin & Jason Biggs on Fox5 KSWB Morning News

Sean Astin & Jason Biggs talk Turtles on NBC San Diego

If not viewable in your browser, go here to watch.

 
View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.


Surprise Goonies reunion at SD Comic Con!

There was a surprise Goonies reunion at the Flixter's sponsored free outdoor screening of The Goonies last night, when Sean Astin (Mikey), Corey Feldman (Mouth) and Jeff Cohen (Chunk) showed up to intro the movie!

Here are a few blurry pics, plus a couple others from yesterday. More to follow!

By @katpf

Thursday, July 12, 2012

MORE Sean Astin at SD Comic Con!

Sean will be joining his Hollywood Treasure's friend Joe Maddalena in the Profiles in History booth at the San Diego Comic Con this Saturday, July 14, 2012 from 10am - 4pm PT.

Don't forget Sean will also be doing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle panel Friday, July 13, 10:15-11:15am with fellow costars. At 12:30pm, the cast will be signing autographs at the Nickelodeon booth.

Note also that mtv.com will be covering Comic Con online, including TMNT on Friday. Details here.



Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Sean filming Alphas in Toronto

Sean has been filming an episode of the SyFy drama "Alphas" in the Toronto area for the last several days. On Monday, he took a moment to have his photo taken with fans. Yesterday he reported wore a "brilliant purple" shirt! Alas no pics of that!

Posted by @12_Victoria_12

Posted by @Rigz123

Congratulations Sean and Christine Astin!

Congratulations to Sean and Christine Astin on their 20th wedding anniversary!



Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Photos of Sean Astin at Fandom Fest/Fright Night

Unless otherwise noted, photos are by me.

Photo by immerlocked on Tumblr

Okay we're ready to sign with Twitter bird watching!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Photos from Q&A at Fandom Fest



These four photos are by Zoomoe on Flickr:

Sean interview and Q&A from Fandom Fest in Louisville

All videos are courtesy seanastinzone.com

Sean talks evasively about upcoming projects, what he would like to see in a Goonies sequel, his brother's assistance with Vox Populi (and this is before Mack did a whole show for him!), who would win a fistfight between Samwise and Rudy, and more!

 

Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies and Corey Feldman got together to do a Q&A where they answered each other's questions, discussed accents, told anecdotes from various movies, hinted at future projects, talked about who auditioned for what, etc.

Note: Updated 7/20/12 with better audio and video.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Sean Astin & Costars at Fandom Fest

Luke Perry
Three of Sean's former costars were also at Fright Night Film Festival Fandom Fest in Louisville last weekend: Luke Perry from the Showtime series "Jeremiah," John Rhys-Davies from "The Lord of the Rings," and Corey Feldman from "The Goonies." (Of course, all these actors are known for many more wonderful movies and shows!) I had the opportunity to talk quite a bit with all three, and they were all delightful!

The Last Empire
Sean's role as Mister Smith is one of my favorites, and I was keen to meet Luke Perry. Poor Luke had a bad cold and didn't spend a lot of time at his autograph table, but I was fortunate enough to be the first one there when he came down on Friday. He signed my copy of a 30-page mockup of the never-completed graphic novel "Jeremiah: The Last Empire," which was also signed by author Andrew Foley, and in 2009, by Sean. Luke was fascinated by the book, and I emailed the full script to his handler. You can see a few of the completed pages of the graphic novel at DrunkDuck.com.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiere set!

Raphael enjoys pepperoni pizza!
Nickelodeon's new animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Sean Astin as Raphael, Jason Biggs as Leonardo, Rob Paulsen as Donatello and Greg Cipes Michelangelo will premiere with two back to back half-hour episodes on Saturday, September 29 at 11am ET. (As always, check your local listings!) Source

And don't forget: the cast will be doing a panel at San Diego Comic Con next Friday, July 13, 10:15-11:15am PT. At 12:30pm, they will be signing autographs at the Nickelodeon booth.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

More details on Sean's role in Alphas on SyFy

"Sean Astin plays Roland, an Alpha who has a bizarrely absorptive brain, which allows him to assume the memories of anyone close to him and then replay them like a tape recorder."

Source

Season 2 of "Alphas" premieres Monday, July 23, 2012, 10pm on SyFy.


Update: Sean's character's name has been changed to Mitchell. His first episode, "If Memory Serves," is scheduled to air October 8.

Mackenzie Astin subs on Vox Populi

Mackenzie Astin
While his big brother Sean is in Toronto filming an episode of SyFy's Alphas, Mackenzie Astin guest hosted on today's episode of Sean's political webcast, Vox Populi.

Since he is not the political junkie Sean is, instead of a political theme, Mack chose the topic of inspiration: the inspiration that can be found in Sean's roles of Mikey, Rudy and Samwise; and on a much more personal level, how Sean helped inspire Mack in his own life.

It was a very personal, riveting and moving hour. If you missed it, the episode is online now at http://www.toadhopnetwork.com/f/Vox?date=20120705, or you can get the iTunes podcast here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vox-populi/id524848035

Do check it out! It's definitely Radio Worth Watching!

UPDATE: Watch here: http://www.voxpopuliradio.com/episodes/episode-10-july-5-2012/

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Exclusive! Sean Astin to guest star on SyFy's Alphas

Sean is currently in Toronto filming an episode of SyFy's science fiction drama series "Alphas." He guest stars as an Alpha with the ability to absorb other people's memories.

Season 2 of "Alphas" is scheduled to premiere Monday, July 23, 2012, 10pm on SyFy.


John Rhys-Davies in The Hobbit? Alas no!

At least two popular Lord of the Rings oriented web sites have posted that John Rhys-Davies might have a cameo in The Hobbit based on this reddit post. As I was sitting right next to John at the time this incident happened, I thought I'd set the record straight.

John Rhys-Davies at Fandom Fest
Both John and Sean Astin were asked more than once about whether or not they would appear in the new movies. The first time John was asked in my presence, he answered that no, he would not be in it. He told the story of how he visited the set early in filming, went up to the actor playing Gloin (Peter Hambleton) and shouted "Daddy!" The second time, he again answered no, then when "pressed" jokingly said you never know or words to that effect.

HE WAS JOKING!

Neither John nor Sean have filmed any scenes for The Hobbit, which is just now wrapping up principal photography. There is always a chance either or both could have scenes added in pickups, but I'd bet against it! It's a bet I wouldn't mind losing though! :-)

(John did however hint at an upcoming movie with another former co-star!)

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

"Little Boy" Facebook page

"Little Boy," an upcoming WWII movie about a little boy who tries with all his might to achieve the impossible and bring his father home from war, now has an official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/littleboymovie. Like the page for exclusive content!

You can find more information about Little Boy here.

Sean Astin as Carl

Monday, July 2, 2012

Become a Friend of Vox Populi Radio

You can become a Friend of Vox Populi Radio and receive the official Vox Populi Radio Wrist Band PLUS a personalized picture of Sean Astin for only $20!

Details here