Sega has announced its development of new software for future use in games that will allow for more realistic mouth movements with character voices. Magical VEngine form these movements by comparing vowels and consonants sounds against each other then use the data to create more natural facial movements in realtime. In addition, the software will analyze voice actors' speech automatically choosing the proper facial animations, thus expressing more accurate moods. Sega will unveil the technology at the Tokyo Institute of Technology at the end of the month.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Ent. confirmed that it has snapped up domestic DVD rights to Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, which has earned an astounding $213.8M in 12 days. Fox, which has a first-look deal with Gibson's Icon Pictures and passed on domestic theatrical distribution, is also negotiating to distribute in key foreign theatrical markets. No release date has been officially set for the DVD, but one unconfirmed online report says it's August.

Sony Pictures Imageworks has added CINEMA 4D to its matte painting production pipeline. The award-winning software is used for modeling, animation and rendering in the computer animation environment. Imageworks chose MAXON's software after testing CINEMA 4D in the production environment.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER creator Joss Whedon will bring his cult TV series FIREFLY to the big screen in his feature film directorial debut, SERENITY. The film will be set six months after the end of the TV series and continue the adventures of the crew of the spaceship Serenity. Barry Mendel (THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE) will produce with Chris Buchanan, president of Whedon's Mutant Enemy production company, and Alisa Tager of Barry Mendel Prods. serving as exec producers.

New Line Home Ent. announced on Monday that THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING will be released May 25, 2004 on DVD in its theatrical version for $29.95, and that the Extended Edition will arrive in time for the holidays.

Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST continued its assault on the box office this week, racking up $10.1M on Monday, $9.2M on Tuesday, $8.4M on Wednesday and $7.6M on Thursday, bringing its nine-day total to an astounding $160.6M. To put these numbers into perspective, RETURN OF THE KING earned $171.M during a comparable period, while SPIDER-MAN earned $202M, but that covered two weekends. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.

NXN Software, a leading supplier of asset management solutions for creative teams, announced increased market momentum in Asia for NXN alienbrain Studio. New NXN customers in 2003 included game developers such as NCSoft, Hanbitsoft and DR-Interactive in Korea, and CAVIA, Namco, Sonic Team, Think and Feel, Grandprix and Tose in Japan.

With an eye on a robust slate of current and future client activity, rapidly expanding Blitz Digital Studios (DS), a leading interactive marketing agency based in North Hollywood, California, has elevated three staff members and brought on board two creatives.

Oregon3D, The Academy for Digital Arts & Sciences, and Discreet will sponsor upcoming "Storytelling and Animation" seminars at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose, California. Scheduled for March 25, 2004, this two-part class will explore the world of animation from a general overview to the current state of animation as a career.

What a busy week! RETURN OF THE KING swept the Academy Awards on Sunday with a record-tying 11 Oscars, while FINDING NEMO and HARVIE KRUMPET took the animation honors. Then today the great Disney showdown finally took place at the annual shareholder meeting in Philadelphia, with more than 43% voting against retaining Michael Eisner as chairman and ceo.

IMAX Corp. and Tom Hanks' and Gary Goetzman's Playtone have reached a deal with Lockheed Martin, to have the aerospace company sponsor the forthcoming IMAX 3D film, MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION. The 45-minute space documentary, which will be shot in giant 15/70 format using IMAX 3D cameras, will detail the life-changing experience of the 12 men who walked on the moon by showcasing what these men saw, heard, felt, thought and did while on the lunar surface.

Cameron Folds, an Ex'pression College for Digital Arts alum, has begun work on STAR WARS: EPISODE III as a creature animator with the aid of the school's Career Development Program.

3D Festival 2004, held May 3-6 in Copenhagen, Denmark, has just announced its preliminary list of speakers and sessions for its three conferences: 3D Festival, Game Developers World and Architectural Visualization.

3D Festival 2004 Preliminary Speaker List and Sessions (subject to change)

Justin Leach, Softimage
"CG and Anime - Innocence: GHOST IN THE SHELL 2"
Emile Edwin Smith, Zoic Studios
"The VFX of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA"
Jordi Bares, The Mill
"Artificial Intelligence in Commercials
Building Crowds"

The Game Developers Conference 2004 (GDC), held March 22-26 in San Jose, California, has updated its Visual Arts Track lineup, which is designed "to take art and animation in new directions." Sessions are focused on intermediate and advanced artists and are expanded in length to walk attendees step-by- step through the latest tools and technologies.

Keynotes:
"From Visual Anti-Establishmentarianism to Ubiquity and Back"
John Gaeta
Visual effects supervisor for the feature films THE MATRIX, THE MATRIX RELOADED, AND THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS

Despite fan quibbling about the packaging and lack of significant extras, STAR TREK VOYAGER - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (Paramount Home Ent., $129.99) nonetheless arrives on DVD with all 15 original episodes from '95 looking and sounding better than ever. For some, the series is better than NEXT GENERATION with its emphasis on the science, intrigue and fun of time travel, wormholes and four-dimensional creatures.

SPY KIDS director Robert Rodriguez has signed on to helm a feature version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' sci-fi classic, A PRINCESS OF MARS, for Paramount Pictures, reported VARIETY. The film will be produced by Alphaville Prods. and Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios. Alphaville's Sean Daniel and Jim Jacks, along with Rodriguez Troublemaker's Elizabeth Avellan, will produce the project, which is set to begin production early next year. The film will be based on the first book in the 11-novel JOHN CARTER OF MARS series. THE CELL screenwriter Mark Protosevich is penning the script.

After three successful years rhinofx, the New York visual effects studio, has launched a new division offering 3D previsualization. Having ventured into visual effects projects for film, television and video games, rhinofx is doubling its workspace in their New York midtown office building. A larger workforce and more artist stations are in place and previs services are being ramped up to form the new division called rhinofx previz.

Lions Gate Ent. has been granted film rights to develop, produce and distribute theatrical films based upon Marvel properties -- IRON FIST and BLACK WIDOW. Marvel and Lions Gate will share equally in certain revenues derived from the properties, with Lions Gate funding development, production and distribution and Marvel handling all merchandising in connection with the films. The companies have also announced their plans to begin developing THE PUNISHER II.

The Walt Disney Studios has entered into an agreement with Walden Media to co-finance and distribute the long-awaited motion picture THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, the first book published in C.S. Lewis' famed series. SHREK-helmer Andrew Adamson will direct the live-action film, which is due out Christmas 2005. As part of deal, the two companies have left open an option for future films in the seven-book series.

Kodak has released two new film stocks that incorporate the company’s advanced VISION2 color negative film technology, adding 100- and 200-speed, ultra-fine grain color negative films to the product line.