MAXON Computer's BodyPaint 3D will be the focus of a comprehensive Visual Arts Track at the 2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC). BodyPaint 3D was most recently tapped by artists at Naughty Dog to help create the hit game UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE.

Brash Ent. is working closely with Vanguard Animation and Starz Media to develop a videogame based on this summer's animated feature SPACE CHIMPS, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The game is being developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Wii and DS.

Produced by John H. Williams and Barry Sonnenfeld, the film is set for release by Fox on July 18th. The story follows Ham, a curious circus chimp, who leads a group of chimps on a space mission to a strange new planet. SNL's Andy Samberg is voicing Ham.

The big winners in Media & Ent. at the Imagina Awards 2008, announced Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, were RATATOUILLE for Best Feature, OKTAPODI from Gobelins l'Ecole for Best Animation, DJI VOU VEU VOLTI (I LOVE YOU) from Belgium for Best Short, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END for Best Special Effects, Smirnoff SEA for Best Commercial, Harmonix ROCK BAND for Best Videogame and CAMERA OBSCURA of Supinfocom Valenciennes took the Jury Special Prize.

The Media & Ent. winners were:

* Best Animation

OKTAPODI

Autodesk and Electronic Arts have introduced a new project design workshop for Canada's first Masters for Digital Media (MDM) program at Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver, British Columbia.

As part of the 20-month MDM program, the workshop will equip students with techniques to plan and manage digital media projects in their academic and professional careers.

Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound were nominated for six Academy Awards this morning. For the third year in a row, ILM pulled in two of the three vfx nomination spots with TRANSFORMERS and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END. Skywalker Sound also dominated the sound nominations taking three of the five slots in Sound Editing for their work on THERE WILL BE BLOOD, TRANSFORMERS and RATATOUILLE, which also received another nomination in the Sound Mixing category.

Chuck Dages, who oversees Emerging Technology for Warner Bros., has been shifted from Technical Operations to Warner Bros. Home Ent. Group. He retains the title of EVP and continues to have oversight of Motion Picture Imaging (the studio's postproduction facility for film mastering, restoration and digital imaging for movies and television) and the Advanced Media Editorial department (which prepares feature films for distribution on airlines, cable networks and broadcast television).

ADV Films presents three new titles for Jan. 15, including volume two of VENUS VERSUS VIRUS, the third volume of XENOSAGA, and the massive GET BACKERS Seasons 1 & 2 Collection.

From veteran director Shinichiro Kimura (MABURAHO, BURN UP EXCESS) and the production team at Studio Hibari (NERIMA DAIKON BROTHERS) comes VENUS VERSUS VIRUS: EPIDEMIC, which first aired on Japanese television in Jan. 2007.

Vicon Ent.'s Los Angeles-based House of Moves has launched a new state-of-the art motion-capture studio at the University of Central Florida on the grounds of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, UCF's graduate video-game development school. The 3,500-square-foot studio, one of the largest on the East Coast, is described by House of Moves executives as a "world-class facility" for industry professionals and academia.

SEGA Corp. announced an exclusive partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), exclusive licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to develop BEIJING 2008 - THE OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES. The game is being developed by Eurocom Ent. Software for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC. Additionally, BEIJING 2008 -- THE OFFICIAL MOBILE PHONE GAME OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES is also in the works and will be available summer 2008.

THX Ltd., Neural Audio Corp. and Sierra Ent., a division of Vivendi Games, announced that PROTOTYPE, the first-person shooter (FPS) for next-gen gaming consoles and PCs, will be the first videogame to feature Neural-THX Surround. The Neural-THX Surround technology enabled Radical Ent., an internal development studio of Sierra, to extend the surround sound experience from 5.1 to 7.1. PROTOTYPE will go on sale in the U.S. in fall 2008.