CELEBRITY WATCH
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From staff and wire reports

Tenth 'Star Trek' readying for flight

HOLLYWOOD, California -- "Star Trek" is gearing up for another movie launch.

While a 10th installment of the popular movie and television series has yet to receive a green light, the screenplay is written, the two main stars are secured, and a director has just been signed on, according to Variety.

Stuart Baird has signed on to shoot the film, which is being produced by Paramount Pictures.

Baird most recently teamed with Paramount on "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," as executive producer.

The "Star Trek" feature franchise, which bowed in 1979 with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," is one of the most successful in entertainment history, having grossed more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide and more than $5 billion from ancillaries such as merchandising and home video, according to Variety.

The 9th installment, "Star Trek: Insurrection," hit theaters in December of 1998. It grossed more than $70 million.

'S.W.A.T.' headed for big screen

HOLLYWOOD, California -- "S.W.A.T." is back on the production track and headed for a movie theater near you in summer 2002.

The long-in-development feature remake of the 1970s ABC cop series is set to begin production this fall with a budget close to $70 million, and "The Fast and the Furious" star Paul Walker is in talks to star, according to Variety.

The story centers on a grizzled vet SWAT officer who is given a second chance to assemble a new Special Weapons and Tactics team to protect a high-profile criminal. David Ayer, who wrote "Fast and Furious," is working on the script, according to variety.

The original "S.W.A.T." ran for two years, focusing on the various missions of an L.A. special forces team.

Hanks, Hanson elected to Academy board

LOS ANGELES, California -- Not only has he won two Oscars, but Tom Hanks has been elected to a prestigious position at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Hanks, 45, will serve on the acting branch of the Academy's board of governors. His election was finalized Friday, The Associated Press reports.

Hanks won Oscars for "Philadelphia" (1993) and "Forrest Gump" (1994).

Curtis Hanson, the director of "L.A. Confidential," was elected to the director's branch of the board.

Jason Alexander confident about 'Bob'

PASADENA, California -- Michael Richards, who played Kramer on "Seinfeld," saw his self-titled show bomb last season.

Does the same fate await Jason Alexander, the actor who played George Costanza on "Seinfeld"? His new show, ABC's "Bob Patterson," debuts this fall.

Alexander thinks it will do well, The Associated Press reports.

"Do I think (Michael Richards' failure is) a sign for us? No," he said Monday at the Television Critics Association summer gathering. "The show tested through the roof and has been put in an enviable time slot with tons of promotion."

Besides, the show has certain elements that might remind viewers of "Seinfeld," which was one of the most successful sitcoms of the 1990s.

"We purposely created Bob out of the ashes of George," Alexander said. "I would be insane not to measure things against 'Seinfeld.' I've stolen as much of the 'Seinfeld' crew as I could to give me a hedge."

Along with playing the title character, a self-help celebrity guru who isn't nearly as confident as he seems, Alexander also serves as executive producer of the show that will go up against NBC's longtime hit "Frasier" on Tuesdays.

"I am both flattered and scared to death because 'Frasier' is a fabulous show," he said. "I don't think its audience is anything but fiercely loyal."

Deaths: Barton, Buck, and Gabler

NEW YORK -- Fans from the world of theater, film and music are mourning the loss of three talents from the industries, The Associated Press reports.

Steve Barton, who originated the role of Raoul, in the London and Broadway debuts of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera," died July 21 of heart failure. He was 47.

Jules Buck, the photographer-turned-Hollywood producer who helped launch the film career of Peter O'Toole, died July 18 from complications related to Alzheimer's disease. He was 83.

And Milton Gabler, who founded the Commodore Music Shop in New York City, died July 20. He was 90.

The Commodore Music Shop opened in the early 1930s and became New York's best-known place to buy jazz records. Gabler also founded America's first independent jazz record label.