Behind the scenes on set of The Surface

Here are some behind the scenes photos from the first two days of filming "The Surface" starring Sean Astin and Chris Mulkey.

These lucky people had filming taking place in their neighborhood! Next two photos from lady-brooklyn on Tumblr.

Sean Astin Boating on Lake Michigan

Sean Astin went boating on Lake Michigan over lunch with The Surface costar Chris Mulkey today. Photos by Rex Sikes. Source.

Sean and Ali Astin Interview at Comic Con

Sean and his daughter Alexandra (Ali) Astin were interviewed together at the Walking Dead 10th Anniversary party at Comic Con. Sean talks about turtles and his fear of zombies. Father and daughter also talk about being geeks together, and Sean explains how he tricked his daughters into watching Star Wars for the first time.

PopSugar interview with Sean Astin and Greg Cipes

PopSugar interviews Sean Astin and Greg Cipes about their favorite Turtle, favorite alien movie, dressing in costume and more at The World's End party at San Diego Comic Con. These guys are too cute! :-D

Highlights from TMNT SDCC Panel

Some highlights from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel at San Diego Comic Con, including The Kiss!! With Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Rob Paulsen, Mae Whitman and Kevin Michael Richardson.

Interview with creators of The Surface

Interview with "The Surface" director Gil Cates, Jr., writer/producer Jeff Gendelman, and director of photography Jimmy Sammarco, on Milwaukee's WTMJ-4 TV. The movie, starring Sean Astin and Chris Mulkey, begins filming next week.

Miscellaneous pics from San Diego Comic Con

Here are a few more miscellaneous pics from last weekend's San Diego Comic Con. Find full coverage under the San Diego Comic Con 2013 tag.

First up are some nice photos from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel with Sean Astin, Rob Paulsen, Mae Whitman, Greg Cipes and Kevin Michael Richards.

Sean plants a big kiss on Rob Paulsen!

Meeting Sean Astin: One Fan's Experience

Written by Gina Alessi @SincerelyG

I have a confession. The only reason I originally signed up for a Twitter account is so that I could get tweets from Sean Astin. And thank goodness I do, because if wasn't in touch with Twitter I never would have seen the Vine video of Sean Astin with him shouting, "Comic Con Twenty-Thirteen! Booth Sixteen-O-Five, Booth Sixteen-O-Five!!!!"

Sean Astin is going to be at Comic Con.

But not me. My best friend Becca was going though. I'd just have to send her with some things to get signed. I'd write Sean a note for her to give him. That would probably be as close as I'd ever get.

Unless…

Sean Astin talks about The Strain at Maxim FX party

Sean Astin talks about his excitement for his upcoming role in Guillermo Del Toro's FX series The Strain. Filming begins this fall.



That's Sean's lovely daughter Alexandra at his side. You may recall her as Samwise's daughter Elanor in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King!

Sean Astin interviewed by GamerHubTV

Sean Astin talks about how he got the role in Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, what it's like to take over as Raphael for Rob Paulsen, and what's coming up for him in future episodes.

Sean Astin's The Surface costar named

Chris Mulkey will costar with Sean Astin in The Surface, which begins filming next week in Milwaukee WI, Variety reports. Mulkey was recently seen in “The Purge” and co-stars in the upcoming Tom Hanks drama “Captain Phillips.”

The Surface, an adventure drama, is about two men, both at the end of their rope, who suddenly meet in the middle of the unpredictable waters of Lake Michigan. The story is about how even on the darkest days there’s light, and that tomorrow’s a new day. It’s a story with mystery, humor, desperation, friendship and hope.

Sean plays Mitch and Chris is small plane pilot Kelly. Read more about The Surface from this press release, and an interview on Milwaukee NPR with director Gil Cates, Jr. ("Jobs") and writer/producer Jeff Gendelman.

Sean Astin at Comic Con on Sunday

Sean signed autographs at the Profiles in History booth on Sunday, July 21, meeting with a wide variety of fans, from a tiny Goonie…

…to the Hulk himself (Lou Ferrigno)!

Sean thought that was pretty sweet:

Sean Astin's Saturday at San Diego Comic Con

Saturday at San Diego Comic Con was a day for signing autographs for Sean Astin, first at the Xbox Live booth and then at the Profiles in History booth.

At the Xbox booth, Sean was promoting the action movie "Extraction," in which he plays CIA agent Kyle Black. Extraction, which also stars Danny Glover, Jon Foo,  Vinnie Jones, Joanne Kelly and Falk Hentschel will premiere on Crackle.com on September 5.

Sean Astin and the Cutest Hobbit at SDCC

On Saturday, Sean met the cutest hobbit at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con!

Sean Astin at SD Comic Con Friday

Sean had a busy second day at the San Diego Comic Con. Herein are photos, videos, and links to interviews!

He did a number of interviews:

Watch Sean's interview about his role in Del Toro's "The Strain."

Sean Astin's 1st interview about "The Strain"

Sean Astin talked with iamROGUE about his new role in Guillermo Del Toro's FX pilot The Strain the Maxim, FX and Home Entertainment Comic-Con Party on July 19, 2013. The lovely lady beside him is his daughter Alexandra!

Sean Astin, Mae Whitman & Rob Paulsen interview

IGN interviews Sean Astin, Mae Whitman and Rob Paulsen about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at San Diego Comic Con.

Sean Astin at San Diego Comic Con Thursday: pics & vids

Sean arrived in San Diego on Thursday afternoon for the SD Comic Con convention. He wasted no time in having fun!

Sean and Greg Cipes found time to get in a bike ride to the beach and say hi to fans.

More details on the thriller Kickback

Check out this fascinating document on the upcoming thriller "Kickback," starring Sean Astin, Mischa Barton, Michael Biehn, John Hannah and more. It provides production, main crew and background details on the movie, set to begin filming in Prague, Moscow, Chechnya, London and Canada this fall. The story is based on the life and death of Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya.

Politkovskaya (30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist, writer, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and President of Russia Vladimir Putin. Politkovskaya made her reputation reporting from Chechnya. Her post-1999 articles about conditions in Chechnya were turned into several books;[4] Russian readers' main access to her investigations and publications was through Novaya gazeta, a Russian newspaper known for its often-critical investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. From 2000 onwards, she received numerous international awards for her work. In 2004, she published a personal account: Putin's Russia. On 7 October 2006 she was shot and killed in the lift of her block of flats, an unsolved murder that continues to attract international attention. Source: Wikipedia

Story synopsis from the production document:

Anna is a reporter investigating the atrocities and injustices of the Second Chechen War. She is an independent woman who does her job with determination and commitment. She lives each day as if there were not enough minutes in the day for what she needs to do in her life. A woman who has lived, but now unsure for how much longer. Working in both camps she uncovers underhand deals and various plots of espionage and counterespionage. Her enemies think they are using her until she becomes a threat for both sides and somebody has her assassinated. 

A Moscow detective, Ivanov, risks his life more than once, to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. As Ivanov retraces Anna's steps, from Moscow, London to Chechnya, he learns about her kind, loving nature yet determination to reveal the truth about the war in her articles and yet she had secrets of her own. The trail leads him into a dangerous web of conspiracy and espionage involving: chemical warfare, an overdue library book, a secret affair, an undetectable gun, a missing daughter,co-ordinated terrorists attacks and the assassination of the Russian President.

Watch an exciting animated storyboard of the opening scene here.

Sean's role in Kickback has not yet been specified.

Extraction premieres on Crackle.com September 5

Extraction, the action movie with Sean Astin, Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones, Jon Foo and Joanne Kelly, will premiere on crackle.com Thursday, September 5 according to a USAToday.com article.

In the martial arts action thriller, Black Ops specialist Lt. Mercy Callo (Jon Foo), the sole survivor of a botched prisoner extraction mission, must escape a maximum-security prison with his high-value target in order to stop a terrorist plot on U.S. soil.

Kyle Black (Sean Astin, left) Damon (Jesse Garcia) and Col. Quentin Harding (Danny Glover)
supporting a covert foreign extraction operation from an American military command base.

Watch a clip from the movie on Crackle.com (Sean does not appear in clip).

Spike becomes Slash!

TV Guide reports that Corey Feldman will be the voice of Raphael's pet turtle Spike, which has been turned into a hulking 6' Slash after drinking some mutagen!

Last Year TV Guide Magazine broke the news of Goonies reunion on Nick's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now we can reveal the character Corey Feldman will be playing opposite his costar Sean Astin (who voices Raphael on the cartoon) After Raphael's pet turtles, Spike drinks some mutagen, he turns into the hulking, six-foot Slash - whose gravelly voice is supplied by Feldman.  

"This is the first time we've actually added a new turtle to the mix," Feldman says. "He turns into an equally ally with the Turtles in size, stature and personality. He's the perfect companion to Raphael and they immediately become best friends." 

Feldman remains mum on plot specifics but says he has already lent his voice to two episodes (which will air in Season Two) with the promise of more to come. Reconnecting with Astin will be "a nice Easter egg for fans," Feldman says. "For those who knows the history of the Goonies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they'll be excited. And for the newer fans, the kids, will be excited there's a new turtle."

Sean Astin's filming schedule fills up with Reaching from Above

"Reaching from Above," first reported here a year ago, has been added to Sean Astin's busy summer/fall filming schedule.

A fatal car crash kills Rachel Adam's [Dominque Swain] newly announced fiancé and sends her into a coma. This sends her on a journey to a new reality where weird stuff starts to happen around her. She has to make the ultimate choice. Does she go beyond her new reality or does she come back to her family and friends that love her?

Sean plays Rachel's brother Eric Adams. The movie was written by Ryan Lamaster and will be directed by Monty Miranda. Filming is set to begin in Austin TX on September 2. Like their Facebook page for updates.

~~~

Meanwhile, filming of "The Surface in Milwaukee and on Lake Michigan begins in late July and will continue through August.

Later in September, Sean will take on the role of Jim Kent in Guillermo Del Toro's and Carlton Cuse's highly anticipated pilot of "The Strain." If picked up as expected for a full 13-episode season by FX, filming will continue late fall.

In addition, the international thriller "Kickback" will film in Prague, London and other European locations this winter [updated]. Sean's role in the movie has not yet been described.

The Surface press release

Indie feature film called The Surface to shoot this summer in the Milwaukee area!

Milwaukee, Wisconsin/USA – July 8, 2013

Good Note Productions, LLC is happy to announce that a new feature film will shoot this July and August in the Milwaukee area.

The Surface, an adventure drama, is about two men, both at the end of their rope, who suddenly meet in the middle of the unpredictable waters of Lake Michigan. The story is about how even on the darkest days there’s light, and that tomorrow’s a new day. It’s a story with mystery, humor, desperation, friendship and hope.

“We have an uplifting story and have an extraordinary cast and crew. The Surface is an important project for many reasons.  Audiences around the world will be entertained and inspired, and it will positively show the Milwaukee area and Lake Michigan”, states writer/producer Jeff Gendelman.

The Surface will be directed by LA based director and producer Gil Cates, Jr., currently co-producing the Hollywood film, Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, about the life of Apple founder Steve Jobs.  The film will be in theaters everywhere in August 2013.

Details emerge on The Surface starring Sean Astin

Writer/producer Jeff Gendelman and Director Gil Cates, Jr were interviewed on WUWM 89.7 NPR radio this morning about their upcoming film "The Surface." As reported here earlier, Sean Astin plays one of the two main leads who will share the screen on a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan for  ~85% of the film. The second lead has not yet been named.

The story begins with the character Mitch [Sean], who is clearly up to something and not mentally intact. For the first nine minutes of the film, the camera follows him as he goes out to the middle of the lake. He later sees a man draped over some debris from a small engine float plane - Kelly, seriously injured and unconscious. 

To help the injured man, Mitch  attempts to reach the shore, but he invariably runs out of gas. Once Kelly wakes, the pair are in constant conflict, with Kelly eventually finding out that Mitch had intended to commit suicide in Lake Michigan. The plot then develops into a mutual co-dependent relationship, wherein Kelly has to stay alive to keep Mitch alive and Mitch has to stay alive to keep Kelly alive.

In essence, they each become each other’s guardian angels. Gendelman says the story is ultimately about hope, the plaguing yet moving realization that “even on the darkest of days there’s light."

Sean Astin joins cast of The Strain

Sean Astin has joined the cast of the highly anticipated FX TV show "The Strain," based on the trilogy of novels by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan first published in 2009. Del Toro is slated to direct the pilot, also written by Del Toro and Hogan; Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel) will be the showrunner. While the show has not yet officially been picked up, a writing staff has already been assembled and additional scripts ordered for the series.

The story centers on a vampire virus that infects New York and the CDC doctor, Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather (House of Cards' Corey Stoll), who investigates the case. Goodweather is the head of the CDC's Canary Team in New York who is called upon to investigate a viral outbreak connected to an evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph will lead a team of New Yorkers as it wages a war and defends humanity. 

Astin will play Jim Kent. The character is a savvy and trustworthy guy who is an open political operative of the Canary Group and best friends with Goodweather and Nora (Alias' Mia Maestro). He unknowingly betrays their friendship when he is coerced into releasing a cabinet out of quarantine that contains a potentially deadly virus. When asked why, Jim confesses he was embezzling CDC funds to help pay for his and his girlfriend's IVF treatments. Source

The cast also includes John Hurt, Jonathan Hyde, Kevin Durand and more. Filming on the pilot is set to begin mid-September in Toronto and take about 20 days. The show is reportedly planned to be a "three season event series."

For more information, read this or this recent interview with Del Toro, and check out the show's IMDB page.

Sean Astin to attend San Diego Comic Con 2013

UPDATED July 18.

Sean Astin will be attending  the 2013 San Diego Comic Con July 18-21, attending panels and signing autographs.

Go Green! With the Lean, Mean, Ninja Team: Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Check out Nick's latest mutation as executive producer Ciro Nieli and Peter Hastings discuss the upcoming finale for season 1, and get an exclusive look at what's in store for Season 2. Meet members of the incredible Ninja cast: Sean Astin (voice of Raphael), Greg Cipes (voice of Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (voice of Donatello), Mae Whitman (voice of April O'Neil) and Kevin Michael Richardson (voice of Shredder). Stick around for the "unmasking" of a fan-favorite character.

Moderated by Peter Hastings, Friday July 19, 2013 2:15pm - 3:15pm Room 6A

The cast and crew will be signing autographs following the panel, Friday July 19, 3:45-515pm
at Nickelodeon booth (#4113).

Sean Astin joins cast of thriller Kickback

Sean Astin has joined the cast of "Kickback." The thriller, written and directed by Raza Mallal, also stars Mischa Barton, John Hannah, Michael Biehn, Stelio Savante and Noreen Dewulf. It will begin filming in Prague, London and other cities this fall.

Inspired by true events. Anna is a reporter investigating the atrocities and injustices of War, She is an independent woman who does her job with determination and commitment. She lived each day as if there were not enough minutes in the day for what she needed to do in her life. A woman who has lived, but now unsure for how much longer.

Working in both camps she uncovers underhand deals and various plots of espionage and counterespionage.  Her enemies think they are using her until she becomes a threat for both sides and somebody has her assassinated.

A Moscow detective, Ivanov, risks his life more than once, to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. As Ivanov retraces Anna’s steps, from Moscow, London to Bogota and Qatar, he learns about her kind, loving nature yet  determination to reveal the  truth about the war in her articles and yet she had secrets of her own. The  trail leads him  into a dangerous web of conspiracy and espionage involving: chemical warfare, an overdue library book,  a secret affair, an undetectable gun, a missing daughter, co-ordinated  terrorists attacks and the assassination of the  President.

For more information, visit the Kickback web site and follow @KickbackMovie on Twitter.

Sean Astin interview in Dubai magazine

Sean Astin did an interview for Layalina Magazine while in Dubai for the Middle East Film and
Comic Con in April. My thanks to Abeer Mahmoud and Khaldoun Qaddoura who conducted the interview, and provided me with the English version and photos. Read on for Sean's thoughts on visiting the United Arab Emirates, plus some inside info on his upcoming roles in "Extraction," "Santa Switch," "Moms' Night Out" and "The Boys of Abu Ghraib."

~~~

After the overwhelming success of last year, the Middle East Film and Comic Con April 5 & 6, 2013 had returned stronger and bigger. People queued for hours while dressing up innovatively as their favorite characters in order to get the chance to meet up with the celebrities and get their autographs.  It was a great privilege to get the chance to interview the American Actor Sean Astin, who starred as “Sam” in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in addition to many other remarkable roles. Sean Astin, “Abu el Banat” as he calls himself (the father of daughters) gave us a brief about his future plans, and opinion about the Middle East Comic Con in which we got the chance to see further into his lovable personality. 

Sean Astin in Corey Feldman's Ascension Millennium video

Sean Astin appears in fellow Goonie Corey Feldman's new music video "Ascension Millennium." The video was filmed in one continuous take. Watch below and keep an eye out for Goonies props! Can you spot them all?



Here's an animated gif from MTVNews on Tumblr!