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.

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!

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 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 at the Annie Awards

Sean Astin and his fellow Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rob Paulsen, Greg Cipes, Jason Biggs and Mae Whitman were guest presenters at the 40th annual Annie Awards for animation last night.

But the highlight of the evening was the definitely the Turtle/Team Starkid meet-up!

Leonard Maltin (poster), Darren Criss, Mae Whitman, Joey Richter and Sean Astin

Sean has had a deep and abiding friendship with Team Starkid since he sat in for Dylan Saunders at the Starkid panel at C2E2 last year. Starkids Darren Criss and Joey Richter were also presenters last night, and did a little Turtle geeking while introducing the Turtle cast.

Darren even wore the TMNT pajama pants given to him by Sean backstage! See the visual proof below! :-D

Joey Richter, Sean and Darren Criss 

Sean Astin to be guest presenter at Annie Awards

Update: Watch the Annie Awards live streaming here at 7pm PT (10pm ET) Saturday, February 2.

Seam Astin will be one of the presenters at the 40th Annie Awards on Saturday, February 2. Sean's fellow "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" costars Mae Whitman, Greg Cipes, Jason Biggs and Kevin Michael Richardson will also be presenters, and Rob Paulsen with be on of the hosts!

BURBANK, CA (January 29, 2013) – Why have just one when you can have four! Former Annie Awards host and movie reviewer Leonard Maltin and voice actors Rob Paulsen & Maurice Lamarche will share hosting duties, along with a special appearance by long time Annies presenter-favorite, actor and animation industry professional Seth Green at this year’s 40th Annual Annie Awards set for Saturday, February 2 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Celebrating the best in animation, this annual black-tie evening will begin with a pre-reception at 5 p.m. followed by the Annie Awards ceremony at 7 p.m. and an after-party celebration immediately following the ceremony. All events will be held at Royce Hall. 

“We are very excited to have our hosts share in the 40th celebration of the Annies and know they will bring great energy and excitement to this year’s ceremony,’’ says ASIFA-Hollywood President Frank Gladstone. Joined on stage by a lively mix of animation luminaries, celebrity presenters and comedic talent including animation legend June Foray are Jessica Walter, James Patrick Stuart, Kristen Schaal, Mae Whitman, Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Jason Biggs, Jessica DiCicco, Lucas Grabeel, Darren Criss & Joey Richter, Kevin Shinick, Jim Cummings & Diedrich Bader, Atticus Shaffer & Tucker Albrizzi, Jamie Bolio, Kevin Michael Richardson & Loretta Devine, Alan Tudyk, Mo Collins, Max Charles, Jon Olsen & Fred Tatashiore, Sam Witmer & Matt Lanter, Tony Anselmo.

Source.

Join TMNT cast for podcast at Jon Lovitz Comedy Club

Rob Paulsen will be welcoming fellow "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cast members Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Mae Whitman, Kevin Michael Richardson, and via Skype, Jason Biggs for a live podcast of Rob's "Talking Toons." The event will take place Friday, December 14, 8pm at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club in Universal City Walk, LA. Tickets are $20.

Listen to Rob Paulsen's invitation:



More information and ticket purchase here.

UPDATE: Executive Producer Ciro Nieli will also take part.

You can listen via the FREE iPhone/iPad app "Talkin' Toons"or download from iTunes about a week later.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles renewed for 2nd season

After a successful premiere last weekend, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" has been renewed for a 2nd 26-episode season. Besides scoring great ratings with the target demographic, the Playmate series of TMNT toys have made the "Hot Toys for the Holidays" lists for Toys R' Us and Time to Play.

The series stars Sean Astin (Raphael), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Mae Whitman (April O'Neil), Hoon Lee (Master Splinter) and Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder).

Source

More pre-TMNT premiere interviews

With "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" set to premiere on Nickelodeon with two 1/2 hour episodes at 11am ET/PT Saturday, September 29, the interviews are coming fast and furious! Here are the best.

• From NYPost.com:

‘Turtles’ 2.0 Raphael who? Sean Astin talks ‘Ninja’ gig

The “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is one of those TV shows you can’t forget — even if you’ve never seen it. That was the case with Sean Astin, the veteran actor (“Lord of the Rings”) who’s voicing “tough” turtle Raphael in Nickelodeon’s new CGI version of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” premiering this morning at 11. 

Astin, 41, was a teenager when the first version of “Turtles” premiered in 1987, so he wasn’t familiar with the intricacies of crime-fighting, pizza-loving humanoid turtles Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo. 

“Everyone’s familiar with this show, for Pete’s sake. It’s a massive thing, especially on Halloween if you have kid brothers,” says Astin, who went back and watched a bit of the original series (1987-96) after snaring the role. … 

“The thing with voice-overs is, if you don’t do a little something you can sound a little flat,” he says. “If you watch actors in the [voice-over] booth, they’re gesticulating wildly and waving their hands around — you look silly, but that’s how you get your voice to do what’s expected.

Full interview here.


• From Wired.com Geek Dad:
New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series Is Great Fun, Even Without the ‘Cowabunga’

The heroes in a half shell are coming back to TV tomorrow, and managing to be both refreshingly new and respectful of the past at the same time. … The folks at Nickelodeon have put together a terrific voice cast and excellent animation, and produced just a really good show that easily stands with the best TMNT of the past. … 

I had the great pleasure of speaking with The Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin, who voices Raphael in the new series, and with Ciro Nieli, the series’ executive producer. Here’s an excerpt from my interview with Astin:

Read interview here.

• From TVGuide.com:
Sean Astin: Chillax, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fans! New Turtles Are Still Cool

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back! But can their turtle power win over a new generation without alienating older fans? Nickelodeon's animated revamp of the popular franchise premieres Saturday morning (11/10c) and will have to live up to the previous iterations that include a handful of cartoon series and movies all based on the original comic books about four anthropomorphic turtle brothers whose love of fighting crime is only rivaled by their craving for pizza. 

"First I would say: Chillax, people!" says actor Sean Astin, addressing fans' concerns in an interview with TVGuide.com. "What sets this Turtles apart is that it's made by fans for fans. The people making this show loved this growing up, and they loved the comic books before the loved the TV shows. They have this depth of appreciation for it that goes beyond people being hired to do a job. If people love something and put themselves into it, it's going to be good."

Read full article here.

• From Channel Guide Magazine:
Hobbit or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Sean Astin Is All In

It’s almost hard to believe that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been around as long as it has. In 1984, when the Turtles had their birth in what was intended to be a one-off comic book satirizing popular comic-book tropes of the day, Sean Astin was 13 years old. Now, decades later, Astin has found himself taking on the role of one of the Turtles himself, in Nickelodeon’s reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiering tomorrow, Sept. 29 at 11am ET/PT. I spoke with Astin about the new 26-episode series, its place in the Turtles canon, his mom and yes, a little about The Hobbit movie that reunites a number of his former castmates.

Read interview here.

• From MTV Geek:

Sean Astin Wears Red Mask as Raphael

When Nickelodeon premieres their revamped version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles this Saturday, it will be Lord of the Rings and Rudy star Sean Astin in the role of the tough-talking bruiser Raphael. Astin joins Jason Biggs as Leonardo, Rob Paulsen as Donatello, and Greg Cripes as Michelangelo, as the Turtles reemerge from the sewers to take on the weird threats on the surface of New York City. 

Read interview here.

See complete Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coverage!

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.

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