LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2007 – Reunited for the first time since The Passion of the Christ, actor Jim Caviezel and producer Stephen McEveety’s new projects make the scriptures come alive just in time for Christmas.

Caviezel, who starred as Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ,” and McEveety, who produced “The Passion of the Christ” with Bruce Davey and Mel Gibson of Icon Productions, have joined forces to offer two related projects for the holiday season at a discounted price – “The Star of Bethlehem” DVD featuring the world’s most famous star and “The Word of Promise” New Testament Audio Bible featuring the voice talents of an all-star, 120-person cast including Caviezel as Jesus.

“The Star of Bethlehem” documentary, released on DVD by Mpower Pictures and Genius Products, proves the existence of history’s most debated and celebrated star. Using historical documents, scientific findings and the Bible, Texas A&M professor Rick Larson pursues his quest for answers from a simple effort to produce an accurate, visual portrayal of the Star in his yard for Christmas. This journey led Larson into a whirl of questions that many people ask each time the Christmas story is told. “What did this Star look like?” “Where did it come from?” “How did it lead the wise men directly to ‘this’ Child?” “Could this celestial event reoccur?”

For centuries, historians, scientists and scholars have debated the existence of the Star of Bethlehem in the biblical telling of Christ’s birth.

“Either they believe the Star is true or they think it was made up by the early Church,” said Larson. “I took a different approach in my research and treated the Star as a mystery or puzzle, looking at the Bible and comparing the facts of Scripture with facts from science and history.”

Using astronomer Johannes Kepler’s map of the solar system, Josephus’s calendaring system and Imaginova’s state-of-the-art Starry Night® software, Larson pinpointed the year of the Star’s appearance.

Larson’s in-depth study of the book of Matthew in the Bible led him to nine distinguishing characteristics of the Star that helped explain its existence. These features of the Star included that it signified birth; signified kingship; had a connection with the Jewish nation; rose in the East; appeared at a precise time; was unbeknownst to Herod; endured over time; was ahead of the Magi as they went south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem; and stopped directly over the city of Bethlehem. The most significant discovery of all came when Larson discovered that in 3 and 2 B.C., Jupiter, known for ages as the “King Planet,” held the nine characteristics of the Star.

The biblical characteristics pointed to the Star being a natural occurrence. Larson’s study of wandering stars, or planets, and slow retrograde motion, created a breaking point in his research. Having made this momentous discovery about Jupiter, Larson continued his study of the stars, only to find another significant link to the starry sky and April 3, 33 A.D., the day Larson believes Christ was crucified on the cross.

The magnitude of Larson’s findings and significance to the Judeo-Christian belief led McEveety, under his new production company Mpower Pictures, to acquire Larson’s presentation and is offering “The Star of Bethlehem” on DVD though Genius Products.

Because the biblical story of the Star is found in the New Testament, “The Star of Bethlehem” was a perfect pairing with the state-of-the-art presentation of the New Testament in “The Word of Promise” Audio Bible. It features a 120-person all star cast including the voice talents of Louis Gossett, Jr., John Heard, Stacy Keach, Marisa Tomei, Lou Diamond Phillips, Richard Dreyfuss, John Schneider and others. In addition, Caviezel reprises his role as Jesus Christ. The 25-hour, 20-CD set includes a bonus special Behind the Scenes DVD with personal stories of the actors on the project.

This powerful world-class audio production immerses listeners in the dramatic reality of the Scriptures as never before. Complete with an original music score by prolific Italian composer Stefano Mainetti (“Abba Pater”), contributions by Dove Award winners Michael W. Smith and Rebecca St. James, and movie quality sound effects that are woven together with compelling narration by Michael York, the Bible comes to life for a new generation.

In addition, when “The Star of Bethlehem” or “The Word of Promise” is purchased directly from the producers’ Web sites, consumers are able to register for the “Pay It Forward Program,” playing a part in giving back 10 percent to a local church or ministry directly and encouraging others to do the same.

For more information or to purchase, visit www.BethlehemStarMovie.com and www.TheWordofPromise.com.

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