According to a report by Josh Chetwynd and Andy Seiler that appeared in yesterday's edition of USA Today, Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) has officially signed on for the tenth Star Trek film.

His salary for the film wasn't announced, but it is likely to be substantially higher than what he received for the first three TNG pictures, for which he was under contract since the end of 'The Next Generation'. After the recent box office success of 'X-Men', Stewart's star power has also substantially increased. Stewart is the first TNG cast member to be signed on for the film.

However, despite this important step towards actual filming, it also seems the tenth Star Trek film has been pushed back by at least a couple of months. Previously, shooting was expected to start in Spring 2001, giving Paramount enough time to complete the film in time for a Thanksgiving release, but due to the impending actor strike next year production will now not start until after potential writers' and actors' strikes have ended. According to the USA Today report, screenwriter John Logan has done some work on the film, but he will not be able to finish the screenplay before the deadline. Previously it was reported a story for the film already exists, which now still needs to be developed into an actual screenplay.

Meanwhile, the threat of a possible writers' and actor's strike still hasn't been averted. A strike of the Screen Actors Guild against the advertising industry recently resulted in a seeming victory for the actors, and this might inspire the SAG and the Writers Guild for a possible strike against the television and film industry. The Writers Guild recently decided on its final list of demands and expects negotiations to be "difficult". The collective Writers Guild contract expires on the 1st of May, with the actors' contract expiring two months later.

Whenever shooting for the film does start, though, the signing of Stewart does signify even clearer that a tenth Star Trek film will be made, and in the long run the delayal of the film might actually prove to be a good thing for the Star Trek franchise.

A bit more can be found in the original USA Today report. Thanks go out to Lysette van Erp for the link!

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