Tom Cruise joining ‘Star Trek’ cast?

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Considering all the speculation that surrounded the casting of the upcoming “Star Trek” movie, it wouldn’t seem like a stretch to think that Tom Cruise might be one more late addition to the roster.

“Tom visited the set of the movie and chatted with J.J. Abrams,” a source close to the actor said. The last time Cruise was spotted on a set for a movie he wasn’t said to be signed on for — “Tropic Thunder” — it turned out he had a small role. Unfortunately for Cruise fans, the visit to the “Star Trek” set was just a social call — Cruise and Abrams are friends, and apparently, Cruise is a fan of the television series and in particular, Mr. Spock.

“He asked J.J. if there’s a way he can meet Leonard Nimoy. He said he’d always really respected his work,” said the source.

“Star Trek” isn’t due out until summer 2009, “Tropic Thunder” arrives in theaters this August, and Cruise’s sophomore effort from United Artists, “Valkyrie,” will be released in October.

McConaughey’s new film: more lines, no word on shirts
Matthew McConaughey has begun filming his next movie, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” and thank goodness for the Internet, because McConaughey has already begun blogging about it on his MySpace celebrity page.

While he says nothing about his skin versus clothing ratio in any given scenes, he does say that he has more dialogue in this film than in his previous films. “I think I have more dialogue in this film than any I’ve done before ... big summations where I give my views on love, marriage, family and photography ... my character speaks the truth but is cynical about the promises of each ...” Sounds deep, Matthew.

Breaking: Reality TV isn’t so good for marriage

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After being confronted with rumors that he had a relationship with “Dancing With the Stars” partner Cheryl Burke, Drew Lachey has admitted that reality shows might not be so good for the relationship.

“It’s the kiss of death on your marriage,” Lachey told In Touch magazine. “The best thing you can do is just be married and stay away from it.”

True, but it was certainly good for the former boy bander’s career. Lachey had fallen off the map after the demise of 98 Degrees, the band he was in with brother Nick. The former boy bander has been married to his wife, Lea, since 2000 and he and Burke denied there ever being a relationship. “The story that Cheryl is involved with Drew started two years ago when they were partners on the show. It wasn’t true then and it’s not true now,” Cheryl’s rep told the magazine.

Weekend box office predictions

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There’s no clear winner heading into the box office this weekend. “Superhero Movie” has been getting early buzz thanks to an early clip that leaked to the Internet that showcases an impression of Tom Cruise in his infamous Scientology tape. The film is in 2,700 theaters, which gives it a good chance of having a leg up on competition like “Run, Fat Boy, Run.” That comedy is the directorial debut from former “Friend” David Schwimmer, but will probably be too quirky for mainstream audiences. “Stop-Loss” also opens this weekend. Between the very pretty boys who star in the film (Ryan Phillippe and Channing Tatum, among others) and the fact that war movies just aren’t doing well in theaters makes this a tough sell. That said, “Stop-Loss” is the first film from Kimberly Peirce since her debut, “Boys Don’t Cry,” so expect some ticket sales just for that reason. Lastly, there’s “21,” the big-screen adaptation of the book “Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas For Millions.” The flick is running on 2,500 screens and will have a big draw among the college crowd. I’m betting on this one (no pun intended) to take the box-office win.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.

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