http://trekweb.com/articles/2007/01/22/James-McAvoy-to-Play-the-New.shtmlAccording to Scottish tabloid The Sunday Mail, Last King Of Scotland star James McAvoy is set to play Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the upcoming Star Trek XI prequel to be produced by J.J. Abrams.
According to the site, Paramount Pictures said: "We are very excited about the film. Casting is in the early stages - we cannot comment on any names yet."
But an insider revealed: "The producers are keen to have a Scottish Scotty and James is the No.1 choice."
"They think he could form a brilliant double act with Matt. James' star is on the rise after The Last King of Scotland. He's Scottish and has box office appeal so he fulfils both criteria."
This information is preliminary, of course, and entirely rumor.
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http://www.syfyportal.com/news423165.htmlBrent Spiner: Star Trek's Failure Is Fans' Fault
Actor who played Data speaks out over 'Nemesis' failureBy MICHAEL HINMAN
Jan-21-2007
If blame is going to be tossed around about why "Star Trek: Nemesis" was such a huge failure, you need to start with the fans.
At least that's what Brent Spiner, who played Data in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the subsequent movies, told the official Star Trek Magazine, as reported by TrekMovie.com.
"We worked on the story with the intention of making it for the fans," Spiner said. "With every Star Trek movie prior to that, we tried to find a way to bridge the gap between the fans and the general public. With 'Nemesis' we said, 'Forget that! Let's make a movie for the fans, because that's the people who actually go to see the films.' And what happened? They didn't go!
"Usually the films opened big, even if they had a lot of competition, but 'Nemesis' didn't even do that. That was a message from the fans that they were done with us."
"Star Trek: Nemesis" opened on Dec. 15, 2002, just days before "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" opened. The film made $18.5 million on opening weekend, and did a total American box office of $43.1 million.
In comparison, the previous movie -- "Star Trek: Insurrection" -- had an opening day box office of $22 million in 1998, going on to gross $70.1 million.
Spiner says he's all for restarting the Star Trek franchise, however, despite his previous comments on J.J. Abrams' idea for Star Trek XI.
"I think they're right to start a new movie franchise that will hopefully spawn a new series that will spawn new movies," Spiner said.
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Stephen