According to TrekWeb, the latest issue of the official Star Trek Communicator featured the usual interview with Star Trek executive producer Rick Berman, talking mainly about the tenth Star Trek film, currently in development.

In the interview, Berman confirmed the news that Brent Spiner (Data) is one of the persons involved in writing the film's story, saying that in fact found scriptwriter John Logan through the actor. "John is an extraordinary writer, The list of his works is very impressive- especially in the last few years. I actually met him through Brent Spiner and I am really looking to working with him. We have not begun working on the script yet, though John has written the story, along with myself and Brent Spiner. The premise has been accepted and approved by all the parties involved, and when all the proper contractual arrangements with our cast have been completed, John will commence writing the script."

Apparently, Spiner and Logan always wanted to work together on a story, and Spiner has been very involved in the storywriting process. Berman said the movie will also feature "a wonderful arc" for Data, though this was not the reason Spiner joined the creative process.

"Wonderful" is also how Berman would like to film itself to turn out, saying, "I would love to be part of creating a wonderful movie featuring these characters that I've worked with for so many years. It is always my goal to make a great movie and, at the end of the day, that is what I hope to accomplish with this film. I want it to be able to stand on its own. [...] I think this film is a bit more light-hearted and more action-oriented. In a nutshell, it's a rip-roaring adventure with a lot of humor."

In other story news, Berman said that at the moment there are no plans to introduce characters from any of the other Trek franchises in the film. However, the film will feature some previously-seen villains, though it will also have "an all-new villain and an all-new race".

With the focus on both humour and action, Berman might be trying to combine the best parts of both 'First Contact' and 'Insurrection'. One important difference between this film and the previous two could very well be the director, as Berman mentioned that no directors for the film have yet been discussed, but Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker) might well not be available. "Jonathan Frakes has done a terrific job on the last two movies, but I don't know what his schedule is going to be like. He has another project that he is involved with now- a movie he is going to be directing for Paramount and Nickelodean. So I don't know if he is going to be available to do this or whether we will be looking elsewhere. That is all stuff we will concern ourselves with after the script has been written. "

Finally, besides info on Star Trek X the interview also had a bit of info on Series V. As was to be expected, Berman confirmed that no pilot will probably be produced in order to serve as a sales tool, but that the series' first season will be sold directly, similar to what happened with the past few Trek series. It has not been determined yet where Series V will end up, but wherever it lands, it will most likely be produced as a full season.

Update: More information from the interview has surfaced at Welcome, Brent Spiner Fans! Apparently, in the interview Berman said that he thinks a Thanksgiving 2001 opening will no longer be possible, and the film will now likely come out in early 2002. As previously reported, production won't begin until early next year.

Interestingly, Berman also seemed to leave the door open for further movies featuring the TNG crew, saying that decisions on when to change the crews in the films are taken "one step at a time". Berman said, "Whether we make DS9 films, Voyagers films, or make some hybrid-combination of characters, are all things that are discussed each time we are approached to make a movie. But there are no hard and fast rules. Right now, The Next Generation crew is alive and well, and they have established themselves in movieland and they are our main focus."

Thanks go out to TrekWeb and at Welcome, Brent Spiner Fans! for this info!

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