Melbourne
(ANI):
JJ
Abrams
'Star
Trek'
is
going
to
have
a
bigger
budget
than
any
of
the
previous
films
in
the
series
–
reportedly
between
150-160
million
dollars.
According
to
Moviehole,
the
sci-fi
pic
previously
had
a
budget
of
130
million
dollars,
but
insiders
reveal
that
the
number
has
now
been
upped.
Simon
Pegg
has
become
the
most
recent
addition
to
the
cast.
He
will
be
playing
Scotty.
Already
on
board
to
star
in
the
Paramount
Pictures" movie
are
Eric
Bana,
Zachary
Quinto,
Leonard
Nimoy,
Zoe
Saldana
and
Anton
Yelchin.
Bana
was
recently
cast
as
baddie
Nero,
reports
Variety.
Zachary
Quinto
and
Leonard
Nimoy
will
both
be
playing
Mr.
Spock,
while
Saldana
will
be
playing
Uhura,
the
communications
officer
on
the
USS
Enterprise.
Yelchin
will
be
playing
Pavel
Chekov,
a
Russian
Starfleet
officer.
Rumours
are
also
abuzz
that
the
highly
coveted
role
of
Captain
Kirk
has
been
offered
to
Chris
Pine.
Abrams
is
also
producing
"Star
Trek" through
his
Paramount-based
Bad
Robot
shingle.
The
movie
will
revolve
around
the
crew's
early
days
at
Starfleet
Academy.
Alex
Kurtzman
and
Roberto
Orci
wrote
the
screenplay
and
will
exec
produce
alongside
Bryan
Burk
and
Damon
Lindelof.
The
film
is
set
for
a
Christmas
Day
2008
release.