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.

Release date set for Boys of Abu Ghraib

Sean Astin filmed this indie thriller in New Mexico over two years ago. He confessed it gave him "haunting nightmares for weeks afterwards." More information and release date are now available.

"A dramatic war thriller about the world’s most notorious prison: Abu Ghraib. Stationed there in 2003, American soldier Jack Farmer is tasked with guarding the Hard Site, a cell block for the Army’s top-priority suspected terrorists. But as a rookie for the Military Police, he has no idea what he’s doing. He’s shown the ropes by a guard named Tanner (Sean Astin), who demonstrates control of prisoners through violence and intimidation.

Farmer’s shifts are long and lonely, until he secretly befriends an English speaking prisoner named Ghazi. The two men pass time together and grow close, but Ghazi soon becomes the subject of harsh interrogations over his suspected engineering of a bomb that killed innocent civilians. As the interrogations increase and their friendship is unveiled, Farmer must choose a side. A decision that threatens to destroy him." Source

Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights;  with a theatrical release date of March 28, 2014. The film will be available on movies on demand February 25; check your local cable or satellite provider.

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."

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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. 

Interviews, articles and pics about And They're Off PLUS more!

• "Sean Astin Talks 'And They're Off' and 'Goonies' Rumors"

Look up "heart" in the dictionary and you might just see a photo of Sean Astin. Or at least one of the characters he's best known for playing, like Mikey ("The Goonies"), Rudy ("Rudy") or Sam ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy). So it's no surprise that in his new movie, the horse-racing mockumentary "And They're Off…," the 40-year-old plays a horse trainer with – you guessed it – loads of heart.

Lots of interesting tidbits in this interview, including a petition to get Samwise Gamgee in The Hobbit, the news that he plays Rose McGowan's love interest in "Napa", and that he has yet to film his part for "Little Boy." Sean also refers to the upcoming animated movie "Ribbit" in which he voices a frog!

Read more here.

• Here's an article about Dot-Marie Jones (Coach Beiste on "Glee"), who has a small role in "And They're Off" as Dusty Sanders' (Sean) former prom date.

Dot-Marie plays Sean's 1990 prom date!

• Here are some fun behind-the-scenes photos from the Hollywood Reporter. Click each for larger images. (More photos at site.)

"Sean Astin's Nightmares and Laughs"

In an interview with Marilyn Beck and Stacy Janel Smith, Sean talks some of his recent eclectic projects, from the nightmare-causing work in "The Boys of Abu Ghraib" (Sean plays a prison guard), to the hilarity on the set of "And They're Off" ("I had to put my face in my hands to keep from laughing out loud"), and "Amazing Love," a story of "fidelity and unconditional love" in which he plays a youth pastor.

Read the interview here.

New projects!

Sean Astin has been a busy boy this summer. Here are some of his projects:

• Sean will be voicing Raphael in a new animated TV series version of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for Nickelodeon. Entertainment weekly interviewed Sean about his new role. The show will premiere in Fall 2012.

Sean recording Raphael for TMNT