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!

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!

Photos from Q&A at Fandom Fest

Photo by Graysunrise on Flickr:

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.

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.

Sean to visit black-footed ferrets

While in Louisville next weekend for the Fright Night Film Festival/Fandom Fest, Sean Astin will get a behind the scenes tour of the black-footed ferret breeding facility at the Louisville Zoo.

The endangered black-footed ferret will be a focus of WLKY-TV's live shots every half-hour during their Sunday morning newscast. Ferret Keeper Guy Graves and zoo Media Relations Manager Kyle Shepard will talk about BFFs and the breeding program with Sean expected to appear shortly after 8am and 8:30am.

Black-footed ferret kit. Source

Sean's schedule at FrightNight Film Festival/Fandom Fest

Here is Sean's schedule for the Fright Night Film Festival Fandom Fest in Louisville, KY, June 29 - July 1.

Photo Ops

Saturday	4:30 - 5 pm	Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies	$40
	5 - 5:30 pm	Sean Astin and Corey Feldman	$40
	5:30	Sean Astin	$25
Sunday	1:30 - 1:45 pm	Sean Astin and Corey Feldman	$40
	4:30 - 5 pm	Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies	$40

Q&A Session

Saturday

1- 2 pm

Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies and Corey Feldman

"Dorothy and the Witches of Oz"

Saturday

7:00pm

Screening and Q&A with cast and crew

Sean will presumably be signing autographs for most of the convention show vendor hours of 10am - 7pm Saturday, and 11am - 5pm Sunday. He is not expected on Friday.

Source

Sean to attend Louisville Fandomfest/Fright Night

Sean will be attending the Fright Night Horror Weekend and Film Festival/FandomFest in Louisville, KY, June 29-July 1.

Looks like Sean's former "Jeremiah" costar Luke Perry will also be there, along with "The Lord of the Rings" bad guy, Wormtongue, Brad Dourif!

Update: Brad Dourif is unable to attend; however LOTR costar John Rhys-Davies will be attending, as will The Goonies costar Corey Feldman.

More info and ticket sales