NEWS 2011
July 10, 2011 Sean's new movie project Sean will be starring as Sgt. Tanner in "The Boys of Abu Ghraib" an independent movie has begun filming in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Think "Hurt Locker" for genre. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1965162/
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1721383246/the-boys-of-abu-ghraib All American Jack Farmer leaves behind a fulfilling life to serve his country in Iraq at the peak of the war on terrorism. Stationed at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, he is pushed to his limit as a daily bombardment of insurgent mortar attacks continually threaten his life. When an opportunity arises to work for the Military Police, Farmer jumps at it and finds himself behind the walls of the infamous Hard Site, a compound for the highest priority terrorists. He’s introduced to the world of military intelligence by Sergeant Tanner, whose harsh, and sometimes inhumane treatment of detainees raises doubts within Farmer about the Army’s procedure. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Boys-of-Abu-Ghraib/167726713284822?sk=info
June 10, 2011 Sean will be speaking at the UCLA English Department's graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 11, 6:30pm. "Our alumni speaker is Sean Astin: http://www.english.ucla.edu/index.php/Department-of-English-Graduation/general-information
Mai 28,2011 Both Sean Astin and Elijah Wood were involved in the making of young Clay Beabout's short film "Deep Blue Breath" which is now available on DVD from the Make a Film Foundation, http://www.makeafilmfoundation.org. It's a sweetly touching story written by and starring then 11-year old Clay, and quite an amazing achievement for him. Clay suffers from the rare VATER syndrome and has undergone dozens of surgeries. Deep Blue Breath is about where Clay's mind goes during his surgeries. Sean plays his father. Elijah was one of Clay's mentors during the film making process, and is featured in the "making of" documentary included on the DVD. You can purchase the DVD from MAFF for a small donation. The film is being shown at various small film festivals and won't be advertised on their site until they are over, but you can email info@makeafilmfoundation for details on purchasing it now.
Mai 18, 2011 Online petition to have Samwise in The Hobbit!
Please sign the online petition HERE:
Mai 7, 2011 Sean did a Q&A session with host Phil Cooke at the Biola Media Conference http://www.biolamedia.com in Studio City, CA last weekend. Along with other topics, they discussed some of Sean’s acting experiences, including The Lord of the Rings with director Peter Jackson. “When he walks on the set, there is already an expectation for greatness,” Sean said. After one particular scene, Jackson told Sean his acting wasn’t believable, so they did another take. “I believe that,” Jackson told him. When the topic of content creation came up, Sean expressed his dislike for the term “content creator,” likening it to calling Mozart a “note arranger.” A better term is “artists,” he added. Sean also talked about the importance of having confidence in yourself and in others. “My father told me that nobody is a chess piece on a board and every single human being’s life has dignity and value,” he said.
Mai 6, 2011 Sean has always shown an interest in politics, campaigning for John Kerry in 2004 and more extensively for Hillary Clinton in 2008. Now he is focusing more locally, serving as campaign manager for Dan Adler, who is running in a special election for US Congress from California #36 district. Sean has accompanied Adler at forums and rallies, and produced and directed several campaign videos. The election is May 17.
April 24, 2011 Sean Astin now has an official Twitter account to add to his Facebook page: http://twitter.com/#!/SeanAstin_LA
April 21, 2011 Sean has created his own Facebook page, Within a few hours, nearly 1,000 people had "liked" his page and scores had posted welcomes to him. Among
his first posts, Sean said he was prepping for the Democrats for
Israel Debate in Hermosa Beach, California, in support of Dan Adler
for US Congress and linked to his campaign web site. April 19, 2011 From a press release: Make A Film Foundation (MAFF) http://www.makeafilmfoundation.org/ proudly presents the world film premiere and red carpet gala benefit of “Deep Blue Breath" starring Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings), Miguel Sandoval (Medium), Natasha Gregson Wagner (High Fidelity), Ernie Hudson (Oz, Ghostbusters), directed by Patricia Cardoso and introducing Clay Beabout. The event will be held at the Writers Guild Theater on Saturday, April 30th at 7:30 PM. Red carpet begins at 6 PM. “Deep
Blue Breath” was written by Clay Beabout when he was 11-years-old
and is based on his true-life experiences. Clay has a rare, life-threatening
disorder called V.A.T.E.R. Syndrome and will undergo his 40th surgery
days after the screening. On screen, while a medical team is battling
to save his life in surgery, Clay fictionally travels into the animated
world of his body to fight against characters that represent his
disease. Supporting Clay on screen is a star-studded cast including
Astin, who plays his father, and Hudson who performs as the voice
of Clay's nemesis. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (directors,
Little Miss Sunshine), and actor Elijah Wood (from the upcoming
film The Hobbit) were among the team members who mentored Clay through
the filmmaking process. Make-A-Wish Foundation introduced Clay to
MAFF. View the trailer for the movie: http://www.makeafilmfoundation.org/db_trailer.html Elijah Wood was also involved with the project as a mentor for Clay. Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, neither Elijah nor Sean will be attending the premiere.
Sean, Clay and the rest of the cast of Deep Blue Breath. Photo from http://www.facebook.com/makeafilmfoundation April 18, 2011 On April 9, Sean hosted the annual Kicks for CASA (court appointed special advocates) benefit soccer tournament. CASA of Los Angeles actively recruits, screens and trains volunteers to advocate on behalf of foster children.
http://www.pepperdine-graphic.com/sports/plans-kicks-for-casa-1.2528125 ~~~ In late March, Sean and his family met with Lois Lowry, author of “Number the Stars” the book Sean is adapting for the big screen."Number the Stars" is based on the true story of a young girl and her family who help Jewish friends escape from the Nazis in Denmark in 1943. The Astins and Lowry met at the Getty Center in Los Angeles over tea. In her blog, Lowry writes: .. It was interesting to be in public with Sean, whose face is well known because of the Lord of the Rings movies, and to see the number of fans who come up to him and say, "Are you..." "Could you possibly be..?" "Can you sign my child's sweatshirt?" "Can I have my photo taken with you?" and to see that he remains cheerful and gracious. Fame could be a nuisance, I think. Lowry also said: [Sean] and his wife have written a wonderful script that is quite true to the book; they have spent time in Denmark doing research and have made all of the preparations for the film...all but the money-raising! And now they are hard at work on that. If the script is true to the book, then it will be wonderful indeed. We hope the Astins complete their fund-raising soon and get this important and moving story to the screen.
April 01, 2011
March 29, 2011 On March 29, Sean Astin was spotted today drinking craft beer at Bilbo Baggins Global Wine Cafe and Restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria, VA. ***
The summit "will draw leaders from across the public and private sectors with the goal of improving the recovering care coordination for wounded warriors and their families. Care Coordinators work closely with wounded, ill or injured Service members, families and their recovery team to develop a Comprehensive Recovery Plan. This plan identifies Service member and family goals and the resources they need to achieve them, such as assistive technology, education, employment, or housing." More information http://warriorcare.dodlive.mil/ *** March 24, 2011 Sean will be a speaker at the Biola Media Conference in Studio City, CA on April 30. http://www.facebook.com/BiolaMediaConference March 12, 2011 EDIT: From SyFy UK: "Apologies for the change of plan for 'Witches of OZ'. It is planned to be aired in the next few months but we do not know when this will be as yet. Apologies for any disappointment or confusion this may have caused."
February 25, 2011
Today is Sean Astin's birthday! Sean Astin was born on February 25, 1971, in Los Angeles, California. That makes him 40 years old today! Happy Birthday Sean and we hope that all your wishes come true.
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Sean Movie News Update, February 25, 2011.
“The film is about Joe Baker, a computer security tech who dreams of finding a special someone. But he gets more than he bargained for when he meets Hope, a woman who has the secret to eternal youth and enhanced perception. But after her untimely death, Joe gets drawn into a secret war for wealth and power, uncovering a conspiracy involving immortal beings.” There’s
no word on what Sean’s role would be, but more information
on the movie and its creator can be found here:
Also in the
works is the sci-fi thriller "The Truth About the War in Heaven:
Declaration of War," the first of a proposed trilogy. Sean
is cast in the role of Minister Watkins, apparently one of the bad
guys! The IMDB listing is here and a detailed, if confusingly written, synopsis is here:
|
Frodo
is returning to Middle-earth without his Sam and it simply isn't
right. Let Peter Jackson know that if actor Elijah Wood is going
to reprise his role as Frodo Baggins in The Hobbit movies then actor
Sean Astin who played Samwise Gamgee should be included, too. After
all, everyone knows that Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam.
On
March 28, Sean gave a talk at the pre-conference reception for the
first Wounded Warrior Care Coordination Summit in Leesburg, VA,
outside Washington, DC.
Happy
Birthday Sean Astin!