LOS ANGELES (AP) — J.J. Abrams' hugely anticipated summer extravaganza "Star Trek" boldly goes to the past within the distant future of the "Trek" universe, years ahead of the TV series

Actress Zoe Saldana has credited her mother with landing her a role in Star Trek - because she never would have accepted the part without her persuasion.

Happy Birthday to English actress Sienna Miller (1981), singer/songwriter John Legend (1978), American actor Denzel Washington (1954), musician Edgar Winter (1946), Harry Potter actress Maggie Smith (1934),

Gay actor George Takei will wed his longtime partner in September and has chosen his Star Trek co-star Walter Koenig as his best man.

Happy Birthday to English actress Sienna Miller (1981), singer/songwriter John Legend (1978), Australian tennis star Patrick Rafter (1972), American actor Denzel Washington (1954), musician Edgar Winter (1946), Professor McGonagall portrayer Maggie Smith (1934), Star Trek's Uhuru Nichelle Nichols (1933),

Zoe Saldana is taking her much-coveted role as Lt. Uhura in the upcoming Star Trek prequel so seriously she has called on the 74-year-old who first created the part for advice. Saldana has turned to "Star Trek" veteran Nichelle Nichols for help in a bid to give her iconic sci-fi character a full history.

NEW YORK (AP) - A piece of outer space named for George Takei is in kind of a rough neighborhood for somebody who steers a starship: an asteroid belt.

Zoe Saldana is to recreate Nichelle Nichols' iconic Lt. Uhura role in the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek epic. The New Jersey-born actress, who co-starred with Britney Spears in Crossroads and played Anna Maria in Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, is the first woman to be added to the cast of the new sci-fi film.

NEW YORK (AP) - As the evil Sylar on ''Heroes,'' Zachary Quinto has an arsenal of superpowers at his disposal. Now Quinto is moving even further into the sci-fi world with his selection to play a young Spock in the next ''Star Trek'' movie.

The producers of TV phenomenon Heroes are going back to cult sci-fi series Star Trek for another casting coup - Nichelle Nichols is to play a Hurricane Katrina survivor in upcoming episodes.