USA Today has a new article concerning The Polar Express and its new film technology. “I wanted it to look like a movie in an oil painting, then have all the warmth, immediacy and subtleties of a human performance,” says director Robert Zemeckis. “When Tom (Hanks) and I were thinking about how we could do this book as a movie, we scratched our heads and asked, ‘How do you do a train going to the North Pole at night on Christmas Eve?’ We decided to explore all aspects of digital cinema. We tried human characters against a blue screen. We went through every possible technique. Then we tried this very new form, and when we got the results back, we decided this is the only way we can do it.” The newspaper, which reveals a new picture of Tom Hanks’ character The Conductor, also informs that the newest trailer for The Polar Express will be shown on television Thursday and in theaters with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, opening June 4. The Polar Express will ride into theaters on November 19, 2004.