Tom Cruise might stay out of the spotlight in his next film: He's in final talks to take a cameo role in "Magnolia," directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (who also directed "Boogie Nights"). Anderson is gathering many "Boogie" alumni -- William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, and Julianne Moore -- for this six-storyline film about families and couples in L.A.'s Valley. Hooking up with a director who made his name with a porn treatise is a sign that Cruise feels a bit frisky after working on Stanley Kubrick's sexual-obsession drama, "Eyes Wide Shut." His wife, too: Nicole Kidman is now starring in London (and will soon come to Broadway) with the carnal play "The Blue Room."

Diva Diana Ross and diva-in-training Brandy will join voices in the ABC TV movie "Double Platinum." Ross plays a rising singer who gives up her baby, worried that the tot will get in the way of her career. But 18 years later, Ross's character finds her girl (Brandy) and helps her with her own budding stardom.

Morgan Freeman's role as the President in "Deep Impact" may have just been a warm-up to playing a very real leader: Nelson Mandela. Freeman is considering depicting the 80-year-old South African president in "Long Walk to Freedom," based on Mandela's 1994 autobiography.

Joan Cusack's Oscar nomination for "In & Out" has obviously given her clout: She has signed to headline a sitcom next year that will be filmed in her hometown of Chicago. The concept for the show is still being developed by sitcom sluggers Carsey-Werner Co. ("Roseanne," "The Cosby Show," "That '70s Show"), but that hasn't stopped ABC and NBC from already competing for it.