First Edition   – February, 2003

"The road goes ever on...," not just for Samwise, but also for his alter ego  – Sean Astin. One might have thought coming off the phenomenal success of The Two Towers, Samwise's shoes might be too big for Sean to fill. Not true. The Shire's favorite gardener is excelling at the busiest time in his lifelong career!

Presently, Sean is portraying "Mr. Smith" on the Showtime series Jeremiah, filming in Vancouver. But even their post-apocalyptic set can't keep this kinetically engineered childhood star tied down. Sean attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where his short film The Long and Short of it was very well received. For those of you who haven't heard, The Long and Short of it is Sean's five-minute homage to what the world could be like if all walks of life were to unite in the interest of helping one another. He wrote, produced and directed the film in New Zealand... taking advantage of a break in his The Lord of the Rings schedule, as well as taking advantage of the generosity of a few of its cast and crew (IE  – Peter Jackson as the "busdriver"/Andew Lesnie, "Lord of the Rings" Director of Photography, as the Grisly Painter/ Elijah Wood as Sean's Assistant Director). Sean likes making movies. If it weren't for the silver screen, Mr. Astin wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Not exactly... you see, Sean steps away from the location now and again to visit film festivals like Sundance or, sometimes, fly to our nation's capitol. When he's not talking to God while in character as "Mr. Smith" on Jeremiah, then "Mr. Smith" is going to Washington as Sean Astin to hobnob with the leader of the free world at the White House. Sean recently joined President George Bush's bipartisan Council on Service and Civic Participation  – whose mission is to promote a culture of volunteerism. This is in addition to his longstanding service as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, through which he endeavors to show support for our soldiers and military personnel from coast to coast and hemisphere to hemisphere. Furthermore, Sean continues his alliance with the Creative Coalition  – all the above in a conscientious effort to be a thoughtful and engaged citizen.

While in D.C. last month, Sean found himself giving an impromptu speech, organized by the Democrats for a New Generation, at a gathering with sixty of our Capitol's staffers, students and locals at the venerable Hawk and Dove. Sean's passionate patriotism, paired with his insatiable desire to give back to the public for all the support he's been blessed to receive, make him an ideal candidate to grow as a public speaker. Who knows? Mr. Astin may even have a future as a prominent political figure. This coupled with Sean's being a lonely bachelor and having all the time in the world to pursue his career ambitions can only lead him, much like Dr. Evil, unto world domination!

Not quite... you see, Sean has a beautiful and loving family. He and his wife Christine recently celebrated their ten year anniversary with the birth of a second daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth joins big sister Ali (six) to complete the foursome family. Unless, of course, you count Byron (Alaskan Husky) and Millay and Secret (cats). The Astins currently make their home just outside Los Angeles, but do spend a good deal of time traveling with Sean's work. Sean, true to his lineage (mother Patty Duke /father John Astin), has always had the enlightenment of knowing at an early age exactly what his dream was: to act, nothing more.

Well, actually... Sean and Christine own a production company called Lava Entertainment. Sean has recently been bolstering his resume as a Director. As many of you are aware, Sean's live-action short film entitled Kangaroo Court was nominated for best short of the year at the '95 Academy Awards. Since, he has directed episodic television for both Nickelodeon and HBO. Timing being everything, Sean's network television debut as a director occurred February 5th on the WB with Angel (episode entitled "Soulless").

Lava Entertainment begins production this month on yet another short film with the tentative working title  – "Word Magic." There's not much press available at present, but the buzz is that "Word Magic" will be a unique and sometimes startling look into the power of perspective and on the language of life. It should be available for purchase (along with his other shorts) in the near future via this website. Finally, here's a giblet you'll get here and nowhere else... Sean Astin hopes to soon begin preproduction on his first directorial feature film  – as yet untitled.

Lastly, an exciting new service has been made available by Sean to all of his fans and friends. With his current family and career demands, Mr. Astin regretfully doesn't have the time to respond individually to all of his fan mail; however, this hasn't stopped him from going an extra mile to satisfy all incoming requests for autographed pictures. As of now, if you want an autographed picture of Sean Astin, all you need do is visit autographedtoyou.com and select your photo (choosing among 6)and personalized inscription (choosing among 10)! The photo and autograph you receive will be an authentic, signed by Sean, and the proceeds go to two of Sean's favorite charities! Sean sincerely requests that you keep your letters coming to his fan mail address at P.O. Box 57858, Sherman Oaks, California 91413. He enjoys hearing from you.

So, with a stamp of approval from Sean Astin, concludes this February edition newsletter. Sean wishes to convey his utmost gratitude for everyone's presence here. This month, as Sean celebrates his 32nd birthday, he offers this present to you... his fans and friends. As long as there are those who appreciate his work, he will perform as an artist all his days... because... "This is our time, down here."

Josh Tundra

(Assistant to Sean Astin)

P.S. – Congrats to Sean on his SAG nomination for The Two Towers!

Visit Sean's official website www.seanastin.com

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