In the absence of anything official from the land of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, we must report on the tiniest tidbit we can. The latest "scoop" comes from E! Online and the mouth of Clifton Collins Jr., who plays Ayel the Romulan.

"Me and Eric [Bana] are the new Romulans," Collins said. "They had a linguist come in and invent Romulan!" Does that mean that Bana's Nero is a Romulan? There was much Trekkie buzz over Nero's funky ears on the first character posters, as well as writer Alex Kurtzman's explanation of them to UGO: "Nero isn't necessarily a Romulan ... It's all part of the plot." Perhaps "new" Romulans fall into that "not necessarily" category?

You will ponder more than that, thanks to Collins' description of what these new Romulans look like -- they may actually be inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean. "We're space pirates," Collins explained. "Think of Johnny Depp as a Romulan." That means eyeliner, doesn't it? Gobs and gobs of black eyeliner, the key accessory of all swashbucklers. No, in all fairness, E! is probably just stretching the quote a bit -- but it does explain the wicked tattoo Nero is sporting.

There will also be some surprise cameos in Trek, Collins wouldn't say who, but he dropped a hint. "There are certain things that as kids growing up, whether it's Star Trek or other shows at the time, all you got to do is really just hear their voice and your heart warms." Will the heart-warming voices belong to characters or actors from the original series? "Maybe." And that's all the news from the land of Trek, readers. Now it's time to amuse yourselves by trying to guess who the thrilling cameos could be! By the time we narrow it down, we may have an actual still or (gasp!) a trailer to discuss. Hey, a girl can hope.

Star Trek opens May 8th, 2009. Many, many, tiny stories from now.

Upon hearing the news that Paramount might be dropping out of ComicCon, my first thought was "Now how much longer will it be until we see Star Trek stuff?" I have an odd relationship with this movie -- I'm not a Trekkie, but I find myself devouring any bit of news that leaks out about J.J. Abrams' reboot. There are thousands of ways it could go right -- and about a million it could go wrong.

But now, an interesting glimpse into the new world of Trek has surfaced over on Ain't It Cool News. AICN founder Harry Knowles made a visit to Abrams' editing room, and is apparently the first person to see any footage of the film. While it always feels a bit cheesy to post someone else's set visit, we're talking about the top secret Star Trek! We take what we can get. From the sound of it, Abrams didn't even want to show or tell this much, so this will probably be the last anyone hears about it for months!

From Knowles' description of the footage he saw, things are still in a very rough stage, which explains why Paramount isn't racing to put it before San Diego audiences. But what is described sounds so very cool that I lament their absence even more. Obviously, a set visit is subjective, and I always read all such reports with skepticism planted firmly in my mind. But read it, and see if you don't feel the same way.

I can't post the entire thing here -- but I will post my (and Knowles) favorite bit. He was allowed to see a scene where a newly graduated Starfleet class is assigned their ships. For those wanting to avoid spoilers, I'll post it after the jump.

It is true, he has spoken. While he didn't say much more than Simon Pegg or John Cho did, it was possibly enough to infuriate loyal Trekkies. In an interview with the Associated Press (via Empire), director J.J. Abrams swore he would reinvent Star Trek.
"I feel like this is so unlike what you expect, so unlike the Star Trek you've seen. At the same time, it's being true to what's come before, honoring it. I can say the effects for Star Trek have never, ever been done like this. ... I can only tell you the idea of the universe of Star Trek has never been given this kind of treatment." (That is a lot of Star Treks in one paragraph. Don't blame me, he said it.)

Abrams has been adamant that he wants to capture new Trek fans, as well as please old ones. He pretty much has to -- the Trek fanbase has shrunk more with each series, the conventions a faint memory in most cities, the market of Spock ears all but gone. (I can say that, I went to my local Trek convention in the days of Enterprise, and it was just sad.) He repeated his goal to the AP, and while I see nothing to upset even the diehard fans ... well, you never know.

Star Trek news is so rare that I have actually been asked by a few people "Oh wow, if you hear anything -- anything, you must pass it on." So I am trying. No snippet is too small, no evasive response too bland. I even know of one Trek fan that was sold on the new movie by just the Simon Pegg story, so there you go -- even the smallest story can change the course of the future.

This one is in a very similar vein. John Cho was interviewed over at AICN for Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay and though he tried very hard, a few Star Trek snippets leaked out. Don't punish him, Mr. Abrams -- how can you resist both Quint and Neil Patrick Harris?

Cho was quick to defend the secrecy surrounding the film. "The reason J.J. [Abrams] wants to keep that under wraps is he just thinks that that the surprise -- he really is looking out for the audience. He feels like it's a good move, so that the audience really experiences it in a fresh way. But what I can say about it is the spirit of it feels like it's honoring what has come before it, just visually, and the script, and all of the actors he has chosen. And it just feels like it is honoring what has come before and I feel like, fingers crossed, we will garner some new fans as well."

According to Variety, Matt Reeves is "in early talks with Paramount" to direct a sequel to this month's smash Cloverfield. This should come as a surprise to exactly no one, as Cloverfield was made on the super cheap ($25 million) and scored a whopping $46 million in its opening weekend alone. From the way the announcement is worded, it looks like they want Cloverfield II underway ASAP, as soon as Paramount can complete discussions with Reeves, producer J.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard, who penned Cloverfield as well as episodes of Lost, Alias, and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Reeves has also signed to direct The Invisible Woman, "a Hitchcock-style thriller" he wrote that "probes the mind of a former beauty queen who turns to a life of crime to protect her family."

It remains unclear which project will start production first, though the Variety article says there's a "good chance" it'll be Cloverfield. No word yet on the plot, but Goddard recently mentioned the possibility of showing you the fateful night of the attack from another cameraman's perspective. Much to my chagrin, I have yet to see Cloverfield. The night it came out I was assigned to review...Mad Money. You don't know humiliation until you have to purchase a ticket for a midnight showing of the new Diane Keaton comedy while surrounded by a huge mob of psyched Cloverheads. I'll check it out this weekend, but for those of you who've seen it -- are you excited for a sequel? And do you like the idea of watching events from another angle or would you want a whole new adventure?

When I went to see Cloverfield over the weekend, the crowd was pretty lively through the trailers. It was not in an excited fan way, but in that last-minute rush of chatter during something that holds little interest. That being said, conversations wrapped up pretty quickly when the Star Trek teaser popped up. At first, when the Bad Robot emblem appeared, people kept talking. I waited. It got a bit more silent as J.J. Abrams' name hit the screen with John F. Kennedy's words bellowing from the speakers. But then, a split second later when the Enterprise came into view, the crowd went wild.

While theater-goers got to see the first teaser in all its glory on Friday, it didn't make it's official appearance on the net until today. Now you can head over to Yahoo and check it out for yourself. Personally, I dug the connections the teaser made between the creation of the ship and America's first forays into space. It made the whole thing seem more real. But maybe all you need is the sight of the Enterprise, and Leonard Nimoy's gravelly voice.

For me, unfortunately, it was a bit ruined when the credits showed up -- I just can't take the idea of John Cho as Sulu seriously. But whatever happens, Star Trek is on its way. What do you think?

While she's no Gary Oldman, Jennifer Garner has made a pretty decent career for herself in polar opposite parts. Most recently, she's yearned for a baby of her own in the hugely raved about Juno, but she's also the international spy lady behind the old television show Alias. That means, of course, that she has close ties to J.J. Abrams, who was the creator of the hit show. He also just so happens to be the man who is putting together the new Star Trek sequel. Now she's hoping that'll help nab her a part in the new movie, according to MTV.

Talking about Abrams, Garner says: "He rocks; I would do anything for him." But before anything, she's hoping for a little favor. "I want to be a Klingon in the movie. I just want to walk through [the frame] as a Klingon." Just when you think you have her pegged, you find out that she's a Trekkie! Or at least, "something of a Trekkie." Now this dream would depend upon there actually being Klingons in the film. However, MTV did point out that there is also the possibility that this is a slipped detail about the production. Whether Abrams told her about the inclusion of Klingons, or Garner is just being hopeful, it would definitely be another impressive morph for the actress.

On the other side: Will the Klingons provide the dramatic struggle for all of the young lads and ladies working their way towards fame on the Enterprise? Sound off below.

We've seen parts of this before, but here's that party scene from Cloverfield in all of its glory. I have to say -- even though I wasn't entirely intrigued by the random trailers, seeing it as a full clip has piqued my interest. Just like the trailer, instead of trying to scare us with eerie music and cinematic ploys, the creeps are from curiosity, and the viewer wondering what in the hell is going on -- just like the people on-screen. It looks like it will work pretty well. Whether that holds through the whole movie, we'll have to wait and see, but I'm liking what J.J. Abrams has done in seemingly destroying New York City (the video coming from an area formerly known as Central Park).

The clip also reveals Theo Rossi, one of my favorite younger actors out there. He played a bully with possibly-evil plans on Veronica Mars, and he recently had one heck of a sad death on Grey's Anatomy, so hopefully he's actually throughout the film, and not just a quick glimpse in a party scene. I also must say -- gotta love people who are more interested in taking cell phone pics of a ravaged and thrown Statue of Liberty head than getting the hell out of there.

This video is the latest part of Cloverfield's viral campaign, and they say sharing the clip widget can score you a prize, so good luck and share away!

And personally, I'm still holding out hope that the evil thing is the same as this clip.

He shaved his locks off to be bald Hitman, but it looks like Timothy Olyphant wasn't as keen to put on a stretchy space uniform and join the world of Trekkies. Was a possible future of Star Trek conventions and Comic-Cons, action figures, and rabid fanboys just too much for him? (Sure, there's similar stuff that comes along with Hitman, but not to the same level, of course.) MTV recently talked with the actor, and he revealed that he had been in talks to boldly go, with bad grammar, into the realms of space.

Olyphant says: "I went in and met with J.J. Abrams about one of the characters. That led to a series of conversations, and I was very flattered. Lots of e-mails were exchanged between the two of us. Ultimately, I think we both were aware that it just didn't make sense. It was a mutual thing." But, that being said, Timothy says that he's still a huge fan of Abrams: "If [Abrams] called to ask me to do anything, I would do it." After Star Trek, the director is supposed to take on the untitled project about real-life student, Hunter Scott. At 12, he researched the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis during WWII and had the case reopened. Olyphant could definitely handle some military work, so we might just see Olyphant take on a role in that, if he gets the call.

But first up is the Trek, so just who was he in talks to portray? MTV thinks it might have been Dr. McCoy... and if not, maybe Nero or Kirk. Should he have been in the cast? If so, as who?