Sean Astin joins ensemble cast of Checkmate

Sean Astin with Checkmate producer Geoff Browne

Sean Astin has been filming a new project in the Los Angeles area in recent days, "Checkmate," a dramatic/thriller with distinct spiritual undertones and a "Crash" like feel.  The ensemble cast includes Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones, Mischa Barton, Michael Paré and more. You may recall Sean recently starred with Glover and Jones in the Crackle film "Extraction."

"Six people are thrown together during an elaborate bank heist where any move can alter the outcome.  Is it coincidence, or are they merely pawns in a much bigger game?"  Source

According to IMDB, Sean's character's name is Dyson, and from a few behind the scenes photos that have appeared on the internet, he's a priest!

The film is scheduled for release in 2015.

Movie Review: Moms' Night Out

Moms' Night Out (Opens May 9 in US and Canada)
Cast: Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins
Directed by: The Erwin Brothers
Review by: Heidi Gustafson

Synopsis: All Allyson and her friends want is one night of peaceful adult conversation and dinner out in the real world.  But in order to be able to dress up and wear their high heels again, they need their husbands to watch the kids for a couple hours.  No problem, right?

Feeling overwhelmed by her self-imposed expectations concerning child rearing, Allyson (played by Sarah Drew of “Gray’s Anatomy”) initiates a night out for herself and two of her friends that will allow them to dress up and wear high heels so they can participate in the world of grown-ups again. Their trepidatious husbands agree to watch the kids. Sean Astin plays the role of Sean, Allyson’s husband. Chaos ensues involving erroneous dinner reservations, a missing van, a lost baby and one injured husband, with unscheduled stops at a bowling alley, a tattoo parlor, an emergency room and the local precinct.

Toronto ComiCon Part 2: At the Autograph Table

As always, Sean Astin enjoys meeting with his fans at comic conventions, chatting about his roles, giving advice on acting, signing autographs and taking table photos.

Sean is ready and eager to start the day!

Since Billy Boyd was at this event, they spent some time visiting at each other's tables.

Billy tugs on Sean's scarf to get his attention. It doesn't work. 

Exclusive: Ali Astin to star in Ribbit with dad Sean Astin

Ali Astin, daughter of actor Sean Astin, will voice the role of the Princess in the upcoming feature length animated film, "Ribbit," we can exclusively report. This will be the second time Ali has co-starred with her father; she played Samwise Gamgee's daughter Elanor in a brief scene in "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King."

According to writer/director Chuck Powers: "Late in the project I found myself needing to cast the voice of the Princess. I knew I ideally wanted a teenager since the Princess is 16. It occurred to me that Sean had a teenage daughter. Since I was scheduled back in LA for line pickups with him, I called and asked if he thought Ali would be interested in auditioning for the role. She came in and was wonderful! Focused, professional and took direction beautifully. I had to decide if I wanted an American accent or something more exotic. In the end when the animation and voice came together, I found she was perfect as the Princess! This is a part she totally earned." 

Sean, who voices the titular frog, said: "Ali is a natural. I kept thinking about her grandmother [actress Patty Duke] and about myself when she started working, but then it was just awesome watching her create the character. It was exciting to see her be so comfortable and relaxed. There's a moment when voicing a character when you know for sure that everything is right. I loved watching her discover that and then become protective of it within herself. Three things are clear to me. She loves it. She's good at it. She's going to be doing a lot more of it. I couldn't be more proud."

Ribbit (Sean Astin) is picked up by the Princes, voiced by Ali Astin.

Below are newly released behind the scenes and music videos from Ribbit, as well as the official trailer in case you haven't seen it yet!

Toronto ComiCon Part 1: Video Sean Astin & Billy Boyd Q&A (4 parts)

Excerpted highlights from the Sean Astin and Billy Boyd Q&A session at Toronto ComiCon on March 8, 2014.

Part 1 of 4:



Part 2 of 4:

Boys of Abu Ghraib official trailer

Here is the official trailer for "Boys of Abu Ghraib" starring Sean Astin and Luke Moran. The movie is available now on pay per view (check you cable or satellite service provider) and will have a limited theatrical release on March 28, 2014.

Sean Astin discusses the Olympics on Vox Populi

In Vox Populi's second preseason show, Sean Astin discusses the politics of the Olympics with guests Mackenzie Astin, Dr. Fait Muedini, David C. Speedie and Neil Glick. Beware of intensive discussion of curling! ;-)

New Politics Internet Radio with Vox Populi Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Sean Astin on skis in the 2000 flick "Icebreaker"

Sean Astin films "The Best" Chinese TV Show

Last November, Sean Astin filmed an episode of the Chinese TV show "The Best," a sort of "Inside the Actor's Studio" interview program. Other guests interviewed included M. Night Shyamalan, Stan Lee and Justin Lin.

Here are some behind the scenes photos and a promo video for the episode airing this year in China. As a special bonus, included are photos of Sean's stop at the Westside German Shepherd Rescue to visit a special dog named Rambo!

Sean Astin and M. Night Shyamalan

Vox Populi Radio covers the State of the Union Address

Sean Astin's Vox Populi Radio did its first of several "pre-season" podcasts on January 28, 2014, following President Obama's State of the Union Address. Listen below as Sean gives his thoughts on the address, and is joined by conservative commentator Ron Christie.

Current Politics Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Vox Populi0 on BlogTalkRadio

[Please note there are technical difficulties when Sean is lost at about 40 minutes in; it lasts about 9 minutes, so please be patient or scrub ahead!]

Moms' Night Out gets trailer and release date

"Moms' Night Out," starring Sean Astin, Sarah Drew, Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins and Harry Shum Jr. has an official trailer and a release date: May 9, 2014 (unsurprisingly Mothers Day weekend!)

"All Allyson and her friends want is a peaceful, grown-up evening of dinner and conversation… a long-needed moms' night out. But in order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation and food not served in a paper bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for three hours—what could go wrong? MOMS' NIGHT OUT is an endearing true-to-life family comedy that celebrates the beautiful mess called parenting."  —Movie website.



Here are some screen caps of Sean from the trailer and other sources:

Sean and his movie wife Allyson, played by Sarah Drew, share a romantic moment.

Sean Astin appears in CarMax slow clap commercial

In a nod to his role in Rudy, Sean Astin shows up in CarMax's Big Game commercial, in which a customer gets a slow clap acknowledgement of his purchase. A shorter version will appear during the SuperBowl; it's not known at this time if Sean will be in the aired version.

Sean appears at 0:31!



CarMax also made a puppy version of the commercial, matching the human ad shot for shot. Check out Sean as a puppy in a football jacket!



Which do yo think is cuter??

The Woman Who Taught the Goonies

Rediscoverthe89s.com has posted an article about Rhoda C. Fine, a studio teacher for over 30 years who worked with such actors as Elijah Wood, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Cera, and the cast of The Goonies. The article includes a sampling of a treasure trove of photos from Ms. Fine's website.

Rhoda Fine and the Goonies on set

Josh Brolin, Kerri Green and Sean Astin

Doing ADR for Ribbit

Last week Sean Astin and Cherami Kuehn did some additional dialog recording for their roles as Ribbit the frog and his best friend Sandy the squirrel in the upcoming animated film "Ribbit," written and directed by Chuck Powers. The movie also stars Tim Curry and Russell Peters. Watch the teaser trailer here.

Cherami Kuehn (Sandy) and Sean Astin (Ribbit)

English trailer for Cabin Fever: Patient Zero

Here is the English language trailer for Cabin Fever: Patient Zero starring Sean Astin. The movie will be released on Blu-ray in the UK March 17. Still no word on US release date. Source

Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero (2014) UK Trailer - The best video clips are right here

Sean Astin and Patty Duke at Traditions of Christmas

On his way home from Toronto for the holidays, Sean Astin stopped in Coeur D'Alene, ID to see his mother Anna Pearce (aka Patty Duke) and step father Mike Pearce as Mrs. and Santa Claus in "Traditions of Christmas." Ever accommodating, Sean took some photos with fans and other cast members.

Michael Peace, Sean Astin and Patty Duke with some friends