Showing posts with label Sean Astin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sean Astin. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Do You Believe? Remains in Top 10
Faith-based drama Do You Believe? fell 40% to an estimated $2.2M giving the Pure Flix release $7.1M to date.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Do You Believe? Premieres in Top 10 at Box Office
Do You Believe? debuted in sixth place calling up $3.6M from 1,320 theaters for a per screen average of $2,721. The creators of this film were behind last year's surprise hit God's Not Dead which opened this same weekend in 2014 to $9.2M on its way to a strong $60.7M finale. It looks like Do You Believe? might be lucky to hit even one third of that number, but if the production budget was anything like the $2M spent on God's Not Dead, the film could still be pretty successful.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Can Maker of God's Not Dead Recreate Success?
Do You Believe? arrives in theatres March 20 from Pure Flix, the studio behind last year’s big-screen hit, God’s Not Dead. The drama features an ensemble cast of Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, Golden Globe award winning actress Cybill Shepherd, Lord of the Ring's Sean Astin, 70s' icon Lee Majors, Alexa PenaVega (Spy Kids), sitcom staple Ted McGinley, Brian Bosworth and Delroy Lindo.
“Do You Believe?” tells the story of diverse lives that intersect on the streets of Chicago – rich lives, poor lives, and desperate lives. A dozen different souls—all moving in different directions, all longing for something more. As their lives unexpectedly intersect, they each discover the power in the Cross of Christ … even if they don’t believe in it. When a local pastor (McGinley) is shaken to the core by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher (Lindo), he is reminded that authentic belief always requires action. His response ignites a faith-fueled journey that powerfully impacts everyone and touches their lives in ways that only God could orchestrate. More than a movie, it is the question we all must answer (confront) in our lives: “Do You Believe?”
Accompanying the feature film will be the soundtrack of the same name that features the hit single, “We Believe”, by the award winning contemporary Christian group, The Newsboys.
Michael Scott, producer, God's Not Dead and partner, Pure Flix credits some of the success to Winter Jam. "There's no question the momentum we generated from our sponsorship at Winter Jam created a massive awareness for our movie.”
This year Winter Jam is also spotlighting NBC’s upcoming "A.D. The Bible Continues" from the producing team of Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. Downey and Burnett will make appearances at multiple tour dates, including the Winter Jam Dome Spectacular in Atlanta (Burnett only).
Continuing where History Channel’s hit mini-series "The Bible" left off, “A.D. The Bible Continues" starts with the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, telling its story through the eyes of the Apostles, Pilate, Caiaphas, the Jewish Zealots and the Herod family. With the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters as its foundation, the series chronicles what would become the most powerful global movement in history—the epic rise of the early Church. The 12-week Television event premieres Easter Sunday, April 5th on NBC.
The Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular kicked-off January 2 in Charleston, West Virginia, and continues through March. Featuring headliners Skillet, along with Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, Building 429, NewSong, for King & Country and Family Force 5 .
“Do You Believe?” tells the story of diverse lives that intersect on the streets of Chicago – rich lives, poor lives, and desperate lives. A dozen different souls—all moving in different directions, all longing for something more. As their lives unexpectedly intersect, they each discover the power in the Cross of Christ … even if they don’t believe in it. When a local pastor (McGinley) is shaken to the core by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher (Lindo), he is reminded that authentic belief always requires action. His response ignites a faith-fueled journey that powerfully impacts everyone and touches their lives in ways that only God could orchestrate. More than a movie, it is the question we all must answer (confront) in our lives: “Do You Believe?”
Accompanying the feature film will be the soundtrack of the same name that features the hit single, “We Believe”, by the award winning contemporary Christian group, The Newsboys.
Michael Scott, producer, God's Not Dead and partner, Pure Flix credits some of the success to Winter Jam. "There's no question the momentum we generated from our sponsorship at Winter Jam created a massive awareness for our movie.”
This year Winter Jam is also spotlighting NBC’s upcoming "A.D. The Bible Continues" from the producing team of Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. Downey and Burnett will make appearances at multiple tour dates, including the Winter Jam Dome Spectacular in Atlanta (Burnett only).
Continuing where History Channel’s hit mini-series "The Bible" left off, “A.D. The Bible Continues" starts with the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, telling its story through the eyes of the Apostles, Pilate, Caiaphas, the Jewish Zealots and the Herod family. With the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters as its foundation, the series chronicles what would become the most powerful global movement in history—the epic rise of the early Church. The 12-week Television event premieres Easter Sunday, April 5th on NBC.
The Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular kicked-off January 2 in Charleston, West Virginia, and continues through March. Featuring headliners Skillet, along with Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, Building 429, NewSong, for King & Country and Family Force 5 .
Monday, May 12, 2014
Sean Astin Notes Christians Are Innovating Movie Marketing
Sean Astin stars in the just released Moms Night Out and laughs at the fact that he might now be labeled as a Christian filmmaker despite having been in many more mainstream movies.
“What's funny is the idea that I might become a paragon of Christian filmmaking because I've done two Christian films,” he said. “I'm just not going to not make films because Christians are making them if they’re good films.”
“Hollywood is antagonistic to Christian films because of forces that are hard to describe, but Christians have made things difficult for themselves by the way they approach the outside community,” he continued.
Astin said people need to forget about those “who grab the microphones and yell the loudest.” The fact is, people are hungry for family-friendly, faith-based entertainment and studios are finally starting to listen.
“The Christian ground game is presently revolutionizing marketing in filmmaking,” he explained. “It's not a subtle thing, and it's a great thing and it's not owned by the Christians. They are just getting there first because they’re tired of not being able to get their product into a wide marketplace.”
No matter your faith, Astin hopes his new movie will allow the audience to stop, breathe and reflect for a minute.
“What's funny is the idea that I might become a paragon of Christian filmmaking because I've done two Christian films,” he said. “I'm just not going to not make films because Christians are making them if they’re good films.”
“Hollywood is antagonistic to Christian films because of forces that are hard to describe, but Christians have made things difficult for themselves by the way they approach the outside community,” he continued.
Astin said people need to forget about those “who grab the microphones and yell the loudest.” The fact is, people are hungry for family-friendly, faith-based entertainment and studios are finally starting to listen.
“The Christian ground game is presently revolutionizing marketing in filmmaking,” he explained. “It's not a subtle thing, and it's a great thing and it's not owned by the Christians. They are just getting there first because they’re tired of not being able to get their product into a wide marketplace.”
No matter your faith, Astin hopes his new movie will allow the audience to stop, breathe and reflect for a minute.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
‘Lord of the Rings’ Actor Opens Up About His Christian Faith
Actor Sean Astin has had a long-standing career in Hollywood. From starring as Mikey in “The Goonies” to his role as Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, he has entertained and inspired audiences for decades. In a new interview with Beliefnet, Astin recently discussed his career, his faith and a Christian movie he recently filmed called “Mom’s Night Out.”
It may come as a surprise to some that Astin, who has said in the past that he doesn't wear his faith on his sleeve, is religious. But a close look at his career and his public comments corroborate this very fact. In his discussion with Beliefnet, Astin described his faith journey in detail and didn't hesitate to call himself a faithful Christian.
He detailed his fascinating faith journey — one that encapsulated experiences with Buddhism, Judaism, Catholicism, agnosticism and Protestantism (they all touched him in some way). Today, Astin is a Lutheran, having been officially baptized along with his wife at a church in Indiana. But growing up, his stepfather, actor John Astin, was a Buddhist and his birth father was Jewish.
Beyond that, his mother, actress Patty Duke, is a Catholic — at least nominally. When Kennedy asked about this dynamic, the entertainer was candid:
In a previous interview, Astin was asked about his favorite prayer. He cited Ron Dugger who had once set up a meeting between the actor and then-Sen. John Kerry at a time during which Astin was politically active.
“There’s a guy named Rob Dugger who was a very senior member of the Democratic National Committee. [A]fter I’d met with John Kerry, [Rob had] arranged a meeting and this [was] at the height of my trying to grapple with what I was able to accomplish–and not–on a political level,” Astin told Huang. “We just had this conversation, and I asked him that question. [H]e said every morning he wakes up and he says a prayer, ‘Allow me to be an instrument of Your will.’”
Astin said the prayer really resonated with him and that he has uttered it “a few thousand times” since first hearing it.
read full article
It may come as a surprise to some that Astin, who has said in the past that he doesn't wear his faith on his sleeve, is religious. But a close look at his career and his public comments corroborate this very fact. In his discussion with Beliefnet, Astin described his faith journey in detail and didn't hesitate to call himself a faithful Christian.
He detailed his fascinating faith journey — one that encapsulated experiences with Buddhism, Judaism, Catholicism, agnosticism and Protestantism (they all touched him in some way). Today, Astin is a Lutheran, having been officially baptized along with his wife at a church in Indiana. But growing up, his stepfather, actor John Astin, was a Buddhist and his birth father was Jewish.
Beyond that, his mother, actress Patty Duke, is a Catholic — at least nominally. When Kennedy asked about this dynamic, the entertainer was candid:
“Well, it depends on when you ask her and who you ask. I think today she would probably consider herself a Catholic. She’s had a really kind of tortured relationship [with the Church]. I [remember] when my sister died. There’s this group of nuns that lived in a convent nearby. She insisted that they be there. So, you know, when you talk about self identifying versus how people practice versus the culture versus all these kinds of things I think my mom is a feels very comfortable with her Catholicism.”
In a previous interview, Astin was asked about his favorite prayer. He cited Ron Dugger who had once set up a meeting between the actor and then-Sen. John Kerry at a time during which Astin was politically active.
“There’s a guy named Rob Dugger who was a very senior member of the Democratic National Committee. [A]fter I’d met with John Kerry, [Rob had] arranged a meeting and this [was] at the height of my trying to grapple with what I was able to accomplish–and not–on a political level,” Astin told Huang. “We just had this conversation, and I asked him that question. [H]e said every morning he wakes up and he says a prayer, ‘Allow me to be an instrument of Your will.’”
Astin said the prayer really resonated with him and that he has uttered it “a few thousand times” since first hearing it.
read full article
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton and Alex Kendrick Star in Moms' Night Out
Principal photography has wrapped on Moms' Night Out, a film that celebrates real family life—where everything can go wrong and still turn out all right.
“We wanted to make a film that the whole family could enjoy,” said Kevin Downes, the film's producer who also acts in the movie.
In the film, 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 bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for a few hours—what could go wrong?
“I feel like everything in the script happened at my home last week,” said Jon Erwin, who co-wrote Moms' Night Out with Andrea Nasfell and co-directed with his brother Andrew. “It’s a light-hearted look at the joys and challenges moms and dads face today, giving all the time kids need while still finding time for each other.”
Coming to theaters in 2014, Moms' Night Out chronicles one night out gone awry, as three harried moms, their husbands, a sister-in-law with a misplaced baby, a tattoo parlor owner, a motorcycle gang and one bewildered cabbie learn to embrace the beautiful mess called parenting.
“We grew up watching great family comedies,” said Andrew Erwin. “We felt it was time to bring the genre of clean family comedy back to the big screen, and we brought a powerful comedic cast with us to do it.”
Moms' Night Out also loops in a little wholesome passion between a wife and her husband, played by Grey’s Anatomy’s Sarah Drew as Allyson and Sean Astin as Sean.
"I love that the film is not just a comedy but also a love story between Allyson and Sean,” Drew said.
Moms' Night Out spotlights the unfulfilled expectations and serial self-doubts many moms feel . . . then reassures us that the key is raising kids in a loving home.
“I’m excited to be a part of the group of women in a comedy that is reality for families everywhere,” said Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle star, two-time Emmy winner and mom of four Patricia Heaton from the MNO set. “I’ve had so many people come up to me over the years and say, ‘Your show got us through a very difficult time in our family and raised our spirits.’ I think sometimes in a family the only way to diffuse a tense situation is to make a joke or mock yourself or the situation. At some point you just have to laugh about it. That’s what we hope will happen with Moms' Night Out.”
Heaton is an executive producer on the film along with her husband, David Hunt, who joins her onscreen as well, playing a local cabbie caught up in the fun.
This second feature film from Andrew and Jon Erwin follows on the buzz created by their 2012 hit October Baby that surprised the film industry with a No. 8 box office debut against big-budget competition and drew page 1-A coverage in The New York Times.
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