Captain’s Close Call

The Enterprise was very nearly left with no one in the driving seat for the upcoming Star Trek: Nemesis as, according to Patrick Stewart. Talking exclusively in the August issue of Empire, Stewart explained how salary negotiations with the studio nearly forced Picard to resign his commission. "I was a breath away from saying this is not worth the time. An absolute breath away," Stewart told Empire. "They were negotiating so uncompromisingly that it had reached the point where humiliation was the only way of settling this and I wasn't prepared to do that." Given the fact that Picard is by far and away the best character to grace the starship's bridge and the small fact that the entire plot of Nemesis hinges on him, this would have been no minor hiccup. Fortunately though, negotiations did prove successful, Stewart signed on to captain the ship once more and, now that he's aboard, he couldn't be more happy about it, just don't tell him you've read the script - currently doing the virtual rounds online - unless you want an earful. "That annoys the hell out of me. I don't know why people want to know what's going to happen. What satisfaction could you get out of that? I understand people wanting to know who's in it, who are the villains, but blow-by-blow accounts mystify me. On X-Men 2 I have a script with my name and code number printed across every page. It's a case of 'read your script and eat it.'" To read the full interview, purchase the August issue of Empire, on in all good newsagents.