SUBMITTED BY Kit-Kat

January 3, 2008 — Carly Mayberry reports: "Tyler Perry will head the Starfleet Academy in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" feature for Paramount.

Perry joins an ensemble that includes Chris Pine, Eric Bana, Winona Ryder and Leonard Nimoy in the film, which chronicles the early days of the Starship Enterprise crew. Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Karl Urban, Chris Hemsworth, Zoe Saldana and Clifton Collins Jr. also are in the cast.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote the screenplay, are executive producing alongside producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk. Filming began in November. Perry most recently wrote, directed, co-produced and co-starred in "Why Did I Get Married?" His multihyphenate film credits include "Daddy's Little Girls," "Madea's Family Reunion" and "Diary of a Mad Black Woman."

His next project is "Meet the Browns," which he also wrote, produced and is directing. He is repped by WMA and attorney Matthew Johnson. "