Lightspeed Fine Art, known for their high-quality sci-fi and Trek-related artwork, will host their annual Celebrity Charity Open House this weekend in Laguna Hills, CA. Guests include Marina Sirtis ("Deanna Troi"), Connor Trinneer ("Trip Tucker"), Dominic Keating ("Malcolm Reed"), John Billingsley ("Phlox"), Cirroc Lofton ("Jake Sisko"), Robert Duncan McNeill ("Tom Paris") and many other genre luminaries. Hours for the open house are December 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and December 7, from 12 noon to 6:00 p.m. For more information and to make reservations, go to the Lightspeed Web site. Last year's open house raised over $20,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Wheaton Scores Book Deal

Wil Wheaton ("Wesley Crusher") announced on his Web site that he has signed a three book deal with publisher O'Reilly and Associates. O'Reilly will first carry "Dancing Barefoot," a collection of stories from Wheaton's life. The tome was previously published by Monolith Press earlier this year. Wheaton's next effort, "Just a Geek," will bow in Spring 2004.

Echevarria on USA

Former Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine scribe Rene Echevarria will executive produce The 4400, a sci-fi drama for USA Network, according to Variety. Francis Ford Coppola and Maira Suro will also exec produce. The show focuses on the return of 4,400 alien abductees to Earth. USA has ordered the pilot plus five additional episodes. Echevarria described the series to Variety as a mix of The X-Files and Party of Five. The series will most likely bow next summer. Echevarria is also exec producing and writing the pilot for the Fox police series Ricochet.

Acting, Directing and Other Milestones

According to his official Web site, Robert Duncan McNeill is set to direct another episode of the WB series One Tree Hill. McNeill is also attached to direct the feature film "Donny Quinn." According to her official site, Nana Visitor ("Kira Nerys") recently filmed an appearance on the hit NBC series Las Vegas. Visitor plays an illusionist. Visitor's old onscreen nemesis, Louise Fletcher ("Kai Winn"), has also landed a new part — she'll play the grandmother of Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson opposite Donald Sutherland in the indie film "Aurora Borealis." Finally, two more Trek alums are celebrating notable milestones: Whoopi Goldberg ("Guinan") has been named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Neal McDonough ("Lieutenant Hawk") recently married Ruve Robertson, according to Variety.

Sensor Sweep

William Shatner ("James T. Kirk") can be seen in the TV movie "A Carol Christmas," December 7 on the Hallmark Channel. Shatner will also guest on Cartoon Network's Space Ghost Coast to Coast on the same night. Also on December 7, watch for James Cromwell ("Zefram Cochrane") in HBO's mini-series Angels in America. Sci-Fi Channel's mini-series Battlestar Galactica, an update of the classic series, premieres December 8. This new version was penned and exec produced by former TNG and DS9 and Star Trek: Voyager scribe Ronald D. Moore. Visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel also did visual effects work for TNG and DS9. Finally, Sharon Lawrence ("Amelia Earhart") stars in the TNT TV movie "Word of Honor," premiering December 6. Check your local listings for airing times for all of these projects. On the big screen, watch for Alan Ruck ("John Harriman") in "Cheaper by the Dozen" and Ethan Phillips ("Neelix") in "Bad Santa." Also, John Logan, screenwriter for "Star Trek Nemesis," co-wrote the script for the upcoming Tom Cruise epic "The Last Samurai" with Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz.