Q: George Clooney is my absolute favourite actor. What is he doing next? — H.D.

A: He stars in the upcoming drama The Good German; another sequel to Ocean's Eleven — Ocean's Thirteen — due out next year; a thriller, Michael Clayton; and a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football called Leatherheads, which he will also direct. After he finishes that film, he's expected to reunite with the Coen brothers for the comedy Burn After Reading, playing a CIA agent who loses disk of the book he's writing.

Q: What is that beautiful actress Charlie Theron doing now? — M.J.

A: She's currently filming The Battle in Seattle, based on the stormy World Trade Organisation meeting in that city in 1999; her boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, is directing. Following that, she plans to co-star with Tommy Lee Jones in the Iraq War drama In the Valley of Elah; a family drama called Ferris Wheel, with Woody Harrelson; the drama The Ice at the Bottom of the World; the sequel to The Italian Job — this time called The Brazilian Job — and is in talks to star as a bounty hunter in a drama called Jinx.

Q: What is Jeremy Piven doing now? — N.H.

A: The actor, who rose to fame in Entourage, is co-staring with Ben Affleck and Jason Baterman in the upcoming action comedy Smokin' Aces; a political drama called The Kingdom, also with Jason Baterman, plus Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner; and is providing a voice, alongside John Cleese, Christian Slater and Molly Shannon, in the animated comedy Igor.

Q: I very much enjoyed the performance of Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator and Walk the Line. Is he doing another movie? — N.S.

A: He is; he co-stars with Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall in the upcoming crime drama We Own the Night, and is currently filming Reservation Road, a drama in which two families are linked by a hit-and-run accident. Jennifer Connelly costars, and the film is due for release next year.

Q: What happened to the show Let's Rob Mick Jagger that was supposed to be on in October? — B.W.

A: The show, now titled The Knights of Prosperity — featuring a few scenes with Jagger as the intended victim of grouped of would-be robbers — has been pushed back a couple of months, according to network executives, to give it a better showcase away from the clutter of debuts of other shows. ABC is pretty high on the show since it has already extended the number of episodes ordered before it even hits the airwaves.

Q: I'm very impressed with Jay-Z and that commercial he does on TV. But is he still making records? — T.L.

A: Yes, the impresario/executive is still recording; his first album in three years, Kingdom Come, is due our later this month.

Q: Whatever happened to Jason Priestley? Is he still acting? — L.S.

A: Yes, he's costarring in two upcoming Canadian miniseries: Above and Beyond and Everest 83, which is about the first group of Canadians to make it to the world's tallest peak. Also on tap: the Canadian TV movies Luna: The Way Home and Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story. Back in the US, he's currently filming the comedy Made in Brooklyn, set in that New York borough, and he appears in an upcoming episode of Showtime's series Masters of Horror. He's also filming the pilot of a possible series for the Lifetime cable network called Side Order of Life, playing the fiance of the main character, a magazine photographer.

Q: Whatever happened to Nate Corddry, who I thought was very funny on The Daily Show? — M.B.

A: Like many others, Corddry — brother of Rob, a standout start from The Daily Show — has jumped from that show to another TV series. He's currently on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and has two movies coming out: The Nanny Diaries, with Scarlett Johansson, and The Girls' guide to Hunting and Fishing, with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Q: I love Stephone Colbert's show... especially the segment where he interviews members of Congress. But in a recent one, he interviewed John Hall, an opponent to a congresswoman, who was very funny. Was that fake, or was he really a musician years ago? — K.M.

A: The segment Better Know a District, in which Colbert absolutely toasts a member of Congress, is very popular but has become less so among sitting members of Congress since several of them have come off as utter buffoons under Colbert's sarcastic questioning. Therefore, in the appearance you cited, the challenger John Hall appeared instead of the district's representative, Republican Sue Kelly, who, like many in her party, declined Colbert's invitation. Hall was indeed a member of the band Orleans years back, as demonstrated by his effective harmony on the Orleans song "Dance With Me," performed with Colbert on the show.

Q: What is actress Daryl Hannah currently doing? — A.V.

A: Besides actively campaigning for environmental causes, Hannah co-stars in an upcoming thriller called Dark Honeymoon, a drama called Vice, which reteams her with her Kill Bill co-star Michael Madsen, and is preparing to start an action film called White Lies.